Report Blames Crew Errors for Russian Aircraft Crash

The Interstate Aviation Committee, a transport commission, revealed in a report on Saturday (17 February) that it believes the cause of the crash of a Russian passenger aircraft was errors by the crew.

The flight operated by Pulkovo Airlines was en route from the Black Sea to St. Petersburg when it crashed during a storm to the north of the western Ukrainian city of Donetsk.

According to The Associated Press, the committee stated that the aircraft's pilots were inadequately prepared for flying in stormy conditions and manoeuvring the aircraft through the storm. The report concluded that the training instructions for the aircraft did not contain any appropriate guidance for flying under such conditions.

News agencies in Russia have also quoted an investigator for the commission as saying that a pilot-in-training was at the controls at the time of the accident.

All 170 people on board the aircraft died in the crash.

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