Moscow plane crash: Pilot error may have caused Saratov 703 fatal accident, say Russian investigators

Monitoring equipment reported flawed speed data due to lack of heating, say investigators

Rescue workers found fragments of metal and bodies near the village of Stepanovskoye (AP)

Russian investigators say pilot error may have been to blame for a plane crash outside Moscow on Sunday, which killed all 71 people on board.

The tragedy may have been caused by the pilots’ failure to activate heating for monitoring gear, resulting in flawed speed data, investigators have said.

Sunday’s crash occurred after the pilots saw varying data on the two air speed indicators, the Interstate Aviation Committee said after studying the plane’s flight data recorder.

The flawed indication came because the pilots failed to turn on the heating unit for pressure measurement equipment before take-off.

They put the An-148 on autopilot after taking off from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport but took manual controls back when they saw clashing speed data, with one indicator showing the plane’s speed at zero.

The pilots performed a series of maneuvers and eventually took the plane into a dive at 30-35 degrees. It plummeted into a snowy field six minutes after takeoff, killing all 65 passengers and six crew onboard.

The committee said it was continuing to study the data, but noted that “erroneous data on the pilots’ speed indicators may have been a factor that triggered the special flight situation”.

It emphasised that the flawed speed data resulted from the “icing of pressure measurement instruments that had their heating systems turned off.”

Earlier reports indicated that the plane’s captain had chosen not to have the plane undergo a de-icing treatment before takeoff.

The crew decides whether to have the plane sprayed by de-icing liquid, depending on weather conditions and the state of the plane.

The An-148 model itself has a very spotty safety record, with one previous crash and a string of major incidents in which pilots struggled to land safely. The carrier, Saratov Airlines, has grounded several other An-148s in its fleet pending the crash investigation.

AP