AN AGING Russian airliner went down in heavy fog and burst into flames just short of a runway in northwestern Russia, killing 44 people in a crash that officials blamed on pilot error.

I SMELT it before I saw it. The still, moist air of the forest carried the pleasant scent of resin, faint at first, then getting stronger. The path turned a corner and I saw a stack of freshly sawn logs.

Russia has been warned the risk of a radiation accident in the Arctic will increase if it rushes its attempt to raise the Kursk.