Flight Safety Information November 17, 2013 - No. 237 In This Issue Russia Plane Crash Kills 50 People Russia Plane Crash Kills 50 People MOSCOW, Nov 17 (Reuters) - A Boeing 737 airliner crashed on Sunday in the Russian city of Kazan, killing all 50 people on board and spotlighting the poor safety record of regional airlines that ply internal routes across the world's largest nation. The son of the president of the oil-rich province of Tatarstan and the regional head of the FSB intelligence service were named among those killed when the plane exploded in a ball of fire on hitting the runway. Pictures showed charred wreckage scattered over a wide area, apparently taken after firefighters had extinguished the fire. Russian television broadcast a blurred video showing a bright flash of light. It also published a photo of the plane's gaping fuselage with firefighters in the foreground. The Tatarstan airlines flight from Moscow had been trying to abort its landing in order to make a second approach when it crashed, killing all 44 passengers and six crew on board, emergency officials said. Flight U363 took off from Moscow's Domodedovo airport at 6:25 pm (1425 GMT) and crashed just over an hour later, emergency officials said. The leased plane was 23 years old. According to local reports, the Boeing lost altitude quickly and its fuel tank exploded on impact. There were high winds and above-zero temperatures over the airport in central Russia. Flights to and from the airport were halted until midday on Monday. Kazan, which is 800 km (500 miles) east of Moscow, is the capital of the largely-Muslim, oil-rich region of Tatarstan. A new runway was built at the airport ahead of the World Student Games, held in the city earlier this year. Russia will host the Winter Olympics in the southern city of Sochi early next year. The son of Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, Irek, was among those killed in the crash, as was the head of the regional Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Antonov, according to a passenger list whose authenticity was confirmed by the regional government. Russia and the former Soviet republics combined have one of the world's worst air-traffic safety records, with a total accident rate almost three times the world average in 2011, according to the International Air Transport Association. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called the disaster "a frightening tragedy", offering his condolences to the relatives of the victims in a Tweet on Sunday. State television showed images of a woman scanning a list of passenger names posted outside the airport and crumbling into tears as she apparently recognised one. Boeing officials at the Dubai Airshow had no immediate information and declined to comment on the crash. SPRAWLING COUNTRY Russia spans nine time zones, from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific across large areas of largely uninhabited land, making efficient air and train links especially important to the country's economy. In Soviet times, flag carrier Aeroflot had a virtual monopoly of the airline industry, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a multitude of small private companies emerged. A spokesman for state aviation oversight agency Rosaviatsia said authorities would search for the flight recorders. "The plane touched the ground and burst into flame," Sergei Izvolsky said. "The cause of the crash as of now is unknown." The plane had been forced to make an emergency landing a year earlier on Nov. 26 due to problems with "cabin depressurisation" shortly after take off, a law enforcement source told Interfax news agency. No one was hurt. IATA said last year that global airline safety had improved but that accident rates had risen in Russia and the ex-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States. In April 2012, at least 31 people were killed when a Russian passenger plane crashed after take-off in Siberia. In Sept. 2011, a Yak-42 passenger jet carrying members of a major league ice hockey team came down shortly after takeoff and burst into flames near the Russian city of Yaroslavl, killing 44 people. The Boeing 737 is the world's most popular passenger jet in commercial use today. There have been 170 crashes involving this model of aircraft since it came into use. In the Russian city of Perm in 2008, a Boeing 737 exploded a kilometre above the ground, killing 88 people. (Reporting by Douglas Busvine and Alissa de Carbonnel; Additional reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Tim Hepher in Dubai; Editing by Ralph Boulton) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/17/russia-plane-crash- tatarstan_n_4292139.html ************** Status: Preliminary Date: Sunday 17 November 2013 Time: ca 19:25 Type: Boeing 737-53A Operator: Tatarstan Airlines Registration: VQ-BBN C/n / msn: 24785/1882 First flight: 1990-06-18 (23 years 5 months) Engines: 2 CFMI CFM56-3B1 Crew: Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 Passengers: Fatalities: 44 / Occupants: 44 Total: Fatalities: 50 / Occupants: 50 Airplane damage: Destroyed Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Kazan Airport (KZN) (Russia) Phase: Approach (APR) Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Moskva-Domodedovo Airport (DME/UUDD), Russia Destination airport: Kazan Airport (KZN/UWKD), Russia Flightnumber: 363 Narrative: A Boeing 737-53A passenger plane, operated by Tatarstan Airlines, was destroyed in an accident at Kazan Airport (KZN), Russia. All 44 passengers and six crew members were killed. Flight U9-363 departed from Moscow's Domodedovo Airport (DME) at 18:20 local time on a scheduled service to Kazan (KZN). Initial reports say the crew executed a missed approach procedure while on approach to Kazan's runway 11/29. The airplane crashed and broke up. Weather reported about the time of the accident was: UWKD 171430Z 23009G12MPS 9999 OVC009 03/02 Q0995 R29/2/0055 NOSIG RMK QFE735/0980 UWKD 171500Z 23009G12MPS 9999 -RASN OVC008 03/02 Q0994 R29/2/0055 NOSIG RMK QFE735/0980 [15:00 UTC / 19:00 LT: Wind 230 degrees at 9m/s, gusting to 12 m/s; light rain, light snow; Overcast at 800 feet; Temperature: 3°C, Dewpoint: 2°C; Pressure: 994 mb] UWKD 171530Z 23008G11MPS 5000 -RASN OVC007 03/03 Q0993 R29/2/0055 NOSIG RMK QFE734/0979 [15:30 UTC / 19:30 LT: Wind 230 degrees at 8 m/s, gusting to 11 m/s; visibility 5000 m; light rain, light snow; Overcast at 700 feet; Temperature: 3°C, Dewpoint: 3°C; Pressure: 993 mb] Curt Lewis