An-28's flight recorders to be delivered to Moscow

Flight recorders of the An-28 passenger aircraft, which crashed when performing a landing manoeuvre near the Ayan village located on the western coast of the Sea of Okhotsk (about 900km north-east of the regional centre of Khabarovsk), will be delivered to Moscow on Tuesday. This information has been disclosed by Vladimir Kofman, the Chairman of an investigation commission of the Interstate Aviation Committee.

According to him, the flight recorders are currently in Khabarovsk and will be sent to Moscow within the next few hours. The Committee reported that when the recorders were deciphered, it would be possible to exactly determine the cause of the tragedy.

According to preliminary data, the An-28 passenger aircraft crashed in the Khabarovsk territory because of a pilot mistake.

Experts have determined that the aircraft deviated 4,800m from the runway. The pilot probably understood that he had made a mistake and tried to grab rapidly for altitude. Unfortunately, it was too late. The aircraft hit the mountain 10m down from its peak. As a result of the collision, the aircraft lost a landing gear and a wing. However, it covered another hundred metres before it crashed.

According to preliminary data, no technical malfunctions have been revealed in the aircraft.

There were 14 passengers and 2 crewmen on board. The Rescuers discovered the aircraft's debris and heavily burnt corpses of 16 people on Saturday, August 31st.