Russian investigators comb through plane crash debris

Russian investigators are combing through the charred fragments of a Boeing 737 jetliner as they try to determine what caused it to crash, killing all 50 people on board.

The plane, belonging to the Tatarstan Airlines, crashed yesterday while trying to land at its home port in the Russian city of Kazan, the capital of the oil-rich province of Tatarstan. The son of the provincial governor was among the victims.

Alexander Poltinin, the head of the local branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, said today that the plane crashed while making a second attempt at landing. He said investigators are trying to determine why the crew were unable to land the first time.

Mr Poltinin said investigators are looking into possible pilot error or an equipment failure.

The traffic controller at Kazan airport who contacted the plane before the crash said the crew told him they were not ready for landing as it was approaching, but did not specify the problem.

The plane exploded on impact, and its burning fragments littered the tarmac. Mr Poltinin said it could take weeks to identify some of the victims.

Russian emergency ministry officials said a British national, Donna Bull, was among the victims.

The investigators have found one of the plane’s two black boxes, which are essential for the crash probe.

The aircraft which crashed was built 23 years ago and had seen service with several carriers prior to being commissioned byTatarstan Airlines. The company insisted that the plane was in good technical condition.

The carrier has had a good safety record, but appears to have run into financial problems recently. Its personnel went on strike in September over back wages, and the Kazan airport authority has gone to arbitration to claim what it said was Tatarstan Airlines’ debt for servicing its planes.

Today, investigators started looking through the company’s records as part of the crash probe.

Industry experts have blamed some of recent plane crashes in Russia on cost-cutting mentality at some of its carriers, with safety sometimes neglected in the run for profits. Insufficient pilot training and lax government controls over industry also have been named among factors affecting flight safety.

Russia’s last deadly plane crash was in December, when a Russian-made Tupolev belonging to Red Wings airline careered off the runway at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, rolled across a snowy field and slammed into the slope of a nearby highway, killing five of its crew of eight who were on board.

A 2011 crash in Yaroslavl that killed 44 people including a professional hockey team was blamed on pilot error.