Nine reported dead in crash during takeoff

Published: 3/9/2000

On 9th March at 8:43 local time a Yak-40 flying a charter flight from Moscow to Kiev, crashed at takeoff in Sheremetyevo airport of Moscow. Five crew members and four passengers aboard died in the crash. The flight originated at a business aviation terminal at the airport according to reports. Early reports said the aircraft belonged to Avcom (Aviation Commercial), a business carrier operating a fleet of nine aircraft out of Sheremetyevo Airport, but then it was reported that it was operated by LUKoil Avia , which promptly denied that the aircraft belong to LUKoil or its subsidiaries. It now appears after sa tatement for the Ministry of Emergency Situations, that the aircraft was operated by Vologda Airlines an operator of 15 Yak-40s according to recent reports. The Yak-40 crashed at the end of Sheremetyevo's runway, causing a temporarily cancellation of flights from the airport. Some local reports have suggested that cause to the crash might have been be a terrorist act or not surprisingly a critical technical failure. The reason for the terrorist act speculation is that one of passengers aboard was Anatoly Borovik, head of Top Secret Media Holding,which publishes the Soversheenno Sekretno newspaper and who is well-known for his TV reports and books on the intelligence services. Why such an individual would have been on a charter to Kiev remains unexplained. Another passenger is reported ot have been Ziya Bazhaev head of the Alliance Group. The Yak-40, which entered service in 1968, has proved a very reliable airframe, operated successfully for many years in harsh environments of many countries. Many of the aircraft have been converted to executive use, although it remains unclear if this aircraft was in executive configuration.

Article ID: 1657