News Russian plane crashes in Siberia. 43 death, 12 survivors

[IronRain]

A Russian passenger plane carrying 43 people has crashed shortly after take-off in Siberia, officials say.

43 people were killed and 12 survivors have been taken to hospital, Russia's emergencies ministry said.

The ATR-72 turboprop aircraft had just left Tyumen on a flight north-east to the oil town of Surgut when it crashed.

Officials said 39 passengers and four crew members were on board the plane. It remains unclear what caused the crash.

At least five survivors are in a critical condition, according to the state-run RIA news agency quoting hospital officials in Tyumen.

The Itar Tass news agency is reporting that all the crew, which was made up of two pilots and two flight attendants, died.

Flight 120 disappeared from radars at 05:35 local time (01:35 GMT), state-owned Russian news channel Rossiya 24 reported.

The carrier UTair said on its website that the pilot had been trying to make an emergency landing when the plane came down.

A search team found it had crashed and burst into flames in a snowy field about 35km (22 miles) from Tyumen.

The ATR-72 turbo-prop aircraft was built by a French-Italian company.

The transport ministry has launched an investigation and the deputy transport minister has flown to the site.

Some reports suggest the flight recorder has been found which should help establish what caused the crash.

Air safety has been notoriously bad in Russia - but it had seemed to be improving, correspondents say.

Last year, at least 15 Russian planes crashed, killing 120 people and questions were raised about maintenance.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17580917 (with video of the crash site)
http://news.yahoo.com/russian-plane-crashes-43-aboard-12-survive-033735203.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/01/world/europe/russia-plane-crash/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

 

[garyw]

"Contact was lost with the plane just over three minutes after take-off."

So whatever happened either happended very soon after take-off or was present prior to take-off. I can't help but wonder if it's something missed like flap deployment or deicing....

Time will tell.

 

[N_Molson]

Yes, given the temperatures there, a de-icing problem would be fatal even at ground level. Maybe they de-iced the plane on the ground with chemicals, then, with de-ice not functionning, ice quickly rebuilt as the plane was gaining altitude...

 

[IronRain]

Some photo's:

 

[PeterRoss]

Yes, given the temperatures there, a de-icing problem would be fatal even at ground level. Maybe they de-iced the plane on the ground with chemicals, then, with de-ice not functionning, ice quickly rebuilt as the plane was gaining altitude...

There was -0.6 °C and light wind, quite good weather condition.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Heard that it's this particular aircraft....

 

[MattBaker]

According to avherald.com the crash site was just 2 km behind the runway, so the problem would be during the first minute from takeoff.
Maybe there was a problem at takeoff like an engine failure, but they were too fast to brake so they took off and tried to land in the next field. :shrug:

 

[PeterRoss]

According to all sources the crash site is in 35-40 km from the runway, the comm was lost after three minutes of flight.

EDIT: Now they say it's 1.5 km. Avherald.com says about 1.4 nm. Well, not that big difference...

If it's 1.5 km, how can it be three minutes of flight?

 

[Notebook]

BBC article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17582292

N.

 

[garyw]

Starting to get some mixed information here with some people saying that they saw smoke coming from an engine after take off and others saying that out of all the planes to fly this morning this one was the only one not de-iced which was the pilots decision.

I'm starting to think that this is much more likely to be a de-icing issue - a little more info is here -> http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/481538-utair-atr-72-crash-siberia.html

 

[FADEC]

Icing can occur already a few degrees above 0°C if the sky condition permits. On some aircraft your are advised to switch anti-icing on at 6 or 8°C with visible moisture.

I remember an interview some years ago with a former ATR-72 pilot. I'm not quite sure if it was a former ATR-72 pilot but I think so. He said that the ATR-72 reacts very badly aerodynamically to icing of the wings/structure.

Just had a look to Wikipedia. I remember correctly. It was a former ATR-72 pilot which I saw in the interview. It was about American Eagle Flight 4184:

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Eagle_Flight_4184"]American Eagle Flight 4184 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

[PeterRoss]

It seems like not the best airplane to use in Siberia. Wiki says they moved these planes into southern regions of US after the accident you've mentioned.

 

[FADEC]

It seems like not the best airplane to use in Siberia. Wiki says they moved these planes into southern regions of US after the accident you've mentioned.

Probably. Yes.

I found a documentary about that flight on Youtube: