Why Is the UK Upset Over Russian Aircraft?
As most locals following the news are aware, the Premier has flown to Russia to meet with airline officials prior to making a response to the UK Government’s complaint over the Russian aircraft on the Bermuda Aircraft Registry.
Over the past years Russian airliners have had less than solid reputations for safety, with the New York Times reporting back in 2007 that:
Russia and the other former Soviet republics had the worst air traffic safety record in the world last year, with an accident rate 13 times the world average, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Last year, planes flown by Russian carriers were responsible for the deaths of 318 people in two major crashes and eight lesser ones – close to half the world’s total of 755 fatalities reported by the International Civil Aviation Organization. In Russia and the former Soviet republics together, the combined death toll was 466.
There has been at least one case of a plane registered in Bermuda crashing, and the UK Government being involved in the resulting investigation directly as a consequence of the plane being registered in Bermuda.
In September 2008, a Bermuda-registered and Russian-operated Boeing 737 Aeroflot flight crashed in Russia killing all 88 people on board, including General Gennady Troshev, a military advisor to former Russian President Vladimir Putin, and seven children.
Video report on the crash from the Associated Press:
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Raw video of the investigators and the crash scene:
The airline owner’s mailing address listed in documents was ARN 737 Limited, Clarendon House, 2 Church Street, Hamilton HM 11, Bermuda.
The certificate of registration [#1318] was issued on April 07, 2008, by the Bermuda Department of Civil Aviation [DCA]. The DCA also issued a Airworthiness Certificate [#1211] on May 23, 2008 which was valid until May 22, 2009.
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The VP-BKO Aeroflot-Nord plane
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In the resulting investigation, the UK Government [Air Accidents Investigation Branch] represented Bermuda as the state of Registry. In compliance with ICAO Annex 13, notifications of the accident was sent to the UK.
A press release from the UK Government said they are “assisting the Governor”:
The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), assisting the Governor of Bermuda (a British Overseas Territory) under the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement, has dispatched two Senior Inspectors of Air Accidents to participate in the investigation. Representatives from Bermuda’s Department of Civil Aviation are acting as advisors to the AAIB team.
The American National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB] dispatched a team of investigators to assist the government of Russia in its investigation of the crash. An excerpt from their factual report follows below:
A Boeing 737-500, Bermuda registered (VP-BKO) and Russian operated, equipped with CFM56 engines, crashed on approach to Permairport in Perm, Russia.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) of the United Kingdom, representing Bermuda as the state of Registry, will also participate in the investigation under the provisions of ICAO Annex 13.
The cause of error of the crash appears to not be mechanically related, but is widely attributed to pilot error. Reports say that traces of alcohol were found in the pilots blood.
You can read the US NTSB factual report here [5 page PDF] , the UK Government’s report on the crash here [141 page PDF], and a photo gallery of the crash here [in Russian, click green arrow at top to move to next photo].
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Category: Accidents and fires, All, News
