Lokomotiv hockey club died similarly to Poland's Kaczynski

The reason of the deadly air crash near Yaroslavl, which claimed the lives of 44 people, including only survivor among the players, has not been determined yet. A number of versions have been unveiled, but it appears that they fall apart one after another. In the meantime, experts begin to compare the Yak-42 crash in Yaroslavl with the crash of the Tu-154 jet near Smolensk, which wiped out the administration of Poland, including President Lech Kaczynski. Many foreign journalists and experts, just like their Russian colleagues, believe that the tragedy occurred because of the lamentable situation in the Russian aviation. 

Photo: AP photo

Lokomotiv hockey club died similarly to Poland's administration. 45364.jpeg

A former pilot of the 415^th fighter air regiment, which was based on Tunoshna air base before the middle of the 1990s, told the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper that the crash of the Yak-42 near Yaroslavl was reminiscent of the tragedy with the Tu-154 near Smolensk.

"As for the Tu-154 crash, the pilot was blindly following the orders from the officials, instead of following the instructions. I'm led to believe that there was something like that this time too. They were rushing the people, and the pilots were obviously nervous," the pilot, who wished to remain anonymous said.

To all appearance, the pilots of  the Yak-42 jet were told to avoid any delays with the takeoff. Everybody was expecting the arrival of distinguished guests for the International Political Forum in Yaroslavl. The pilot of the Yak-42 realized during the takeoff that there was a problem with the engine, the anonymous source believes. Pilots are supposed to stop the acceleration under normal conditions. However, the Yak-42 pilot made a mistake because of the instructions not to take the air strip long.

The pilot had a choice as the plane was gathering speed. He could brake hard, but the plane would flip over the nose in this case, and the work of the airport would be paralyzed for hours. Such risk could also ruin the pilot's career, so he preferred to take a chance, the expert believes.

The version of the anonymous pilot about the nervous situation at the airport was confirmed by the driver of Lokomotiv club, Leonid. He brought the team to the airport 50 minutes before the departure but was told to remove the transport immediately. It was possible to enter the airport on special passes only, and no one was allowed to see the players off. The changes in the work of the airport were explained with the arrival of top officials for the International Political Forum.

One of the versions that tries to explain the crash of the Polish Tu-154 jetliner says that the pilot of the plane was staying under psychological pressure during landing. Supposedly, the commander of Polish Air Force Andrzej Blasik told the pilot to land the aircraft at all costs not to anger President Kaczynski. As a result, the presidential jetliner crashed having killed everyone on board.

In the meantime, officials with the Russian Aviation Agency said during the weekend that there were no flaws found in the analysis of the fuel of the Yak-42 jet.  Investigation currently works on two basic versions: a technical malfunction of the aircraft and the human factor.