President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday slammed Russia’s poor air safety record and demanded a thorough probe into a crash that killed 43 people, including members of a top hockey team. An ageing Yak-42 plane carrying three-time Russian champion ice hockey team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, which features several former NHL players, crashed on Wednesday near Yaroslavl, 300 kilometres (185 miles) northeast of Moscow.
A sombre Medvedev said on a visit to the crash site that Russia could not continue to suffer from a string of apparently avoidable disasters and may have to rely more on foreign planes. Medvedev spoke to officials including Transport Minister Igor Levitin and Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu, holding the meeting at the crash site in the village of Tunoshna just outside the city of Yaroslavl, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) northeast of Moscow.
“This is a shock for the entire country. I’ve given an order to the Investigative Committee and the government to conduct a thorough investigation,” Medvedev, wearing a black suit, told officials in a quiet but firm voice after he placed flowers at the crash site. “The situation remains unfortunate, and a string of air crashes which happened this summer shows that. We cannot go on like that,” he told top officials including Transport Minister Igor Levitin and Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu. “We need to create modern companies that will cover all of Russia,” he told officials, adding that if Russia could not produce reliable aircraft it would have to buy foreign-made planes, which would be a major blow to Russia’s industrial ambitions. Medvedev’s mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has particularly insisted Russian carriers buy Russian-made aircraft to support domestic producers.
The latest disaster left two survivors including a Russian hockey player in critical condition and comes on the heels of a summer full of deadly transportation mishaps. Two accidents involving Tu-134 and An-24 jets killed more than 50 people and prompted Medvedev to call for that type of the aircraft to be retired in the coming months.
Officials have so far blamed Wednesday’s tragedy on human error — the usual suspect in a string of past tragedies — and Medvedev demanded that aviation companies improve their act. “The number of aviation companies should be drastically decreased and it should be done in the shortest possible time,” he said.
Medvedev has every right to be concerned. Do you think anyone wants to travel to Russia for the 2014 Olympics and 2018 World Cup if Russian planes are dropping out of the sky and safety standards are so poor? This is a wake up call. Duct taping together cold war planes is not the solution.
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