Russia’s transport oversight agency on Sunday ordered the country’s airlines to stop using Tu-154B planes until the cause of a passenger jet fire and explosion that killed three people had been determined.
A spokesman for the agency, Sergei Romanchev, said airlines must obey the order. The state news agency RIA Novosti said there were 14 Tu-154Bs in service in Russia.
The Tu-154B is one variant of the Tu-154 model, which has been in service since the early 1970s and has been in wide use on Russian internal flights and extensively in other countries, including Iran and many former Soviet republics.
No cause has been determined for Saturday’s fire, which also injured 43 people. The fire began as the plane carrying 124 people taxied for takeoff at the airport in Surgut, western Siberia, about 2,100km east of Moscow. Frightened passengers clawed their way through the smoke-filled cabin and most managed to escape before the explosion.
Investigators have found the plane’s flight recorders and taken fuel samples and documents from the regional airline, Kogalymavia, that used the plane.
The Tu-154, similar to the Boeing 727, has three engines mounted on the rear of the plane. The mid-range plane is noted for its ability to operate on gravel and unpaved airfields. However, noise regulations eventually stopped Tu-154s from flying to most of Europe. Russian flag carrier Aeroflot took the plane out of service in December 2009.
There have been more than 30 fatal incidents involving Tu-154s over their long history, but many of them were attributed to pilot error, poor maintenance or irresponsible operation.
Last month, a Tu-154 operated by Russia’s Dagestan Airlines, made an emergency landing in Moscow after two of its three engines failed. The third engine cut out just before the landing and the plane skidded off the snowy runway at Domodedovo Airport, killing two people.
Also on Sunday, Kogalymavia announced that it would pay the passengers involved in Saturday’s accident 20,000 rubles (US$650) each in compensation.
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