Archangelsk Air Navigation Company has issued a report cataloguing the theft of non-ferrous metals and the problems of unexpected detonations (272 words)

Published: 12/4/2001

The poor condition of the Russian air transport sector may not be the worst of the industry's problems, according to a report from Deputy General Director Surovtsev of 100% state-owned Archangelsk Air Navigation Company. During October 2001, two individuals are reported to have damaged the aircraft landing systems of Archangelsk Air Navigation Company, having shot and wounded the guard on duty. The militiamen investigating the incident say they found a bag with schoolbooks, leading to the assumption that the perpetrators were probably teenagers. Surovtsev said that the individuals were probably after the non-ferrous metal in the air navigation equipment and associated cabling. Theft of non-ferrous metals is an increasing headache for all aviation companies. Surovtsev says this latest incident follows the arrest in July 2001 of an individual at Archangelsk Airport, who had removed 141 metres of cable, damaging a 1000 metre section at a cost to the airport of $2,000. Besides such theft, the company also has to contend with what is described as "unnotified explosions" at Ilos Polygon, not far from the airport, which Surovtsev says puts flights at risk. In October 2001, a company called Metpererabotka-Sever, responsible for decommissioning ordnance for the Russian Navy, detonated several pieces of ordnance without informing the airport's services. The incident was followed by the exploding of a torpedo in November 2001 during the approach of an aircraft to the airport.

Article ID: 2945