More details on the TU-154 crash

More details appear in connection with the recent collision of a Bashkirian Airlines TU-154 and a Boeing-757 over Germany.

Children going on vacation to Spain were on board of the TU-154; Bashkiria’s Committee for UNESCO affairs organized the vacation as a reward for excellent studies. The group consisted of the best pupils from the UNESCO specialized school who were laureates of different school Olympiads.

RIA Novosti informs that, according to the passenger list, there were eight pupils under 12, 37 children under sixteen, and six people accompanied them. The Boeing-757 had only two men on board: British pilot Paul Phillips and his Canadian co-pilot, Brant Campioni.

Russia’s Transport Ministry denies any statements that the TU-154 pilot did not speak English and that the airliner did not meet international flight safety requirements.

The TU-154 was piloted by first-class pilot Alexander Gross, who piloted international flights since 1991. His flight experience made up about 4,000 hours; he was a crew leader for 1,600 of them. The plane itself was produced in 1995; its equipment and interior finishing met international flight safety norms.

Bashkiria President Murtaza Rakhimov declared Tuesday a day of mourning in memory of the perished children. The president charged the cabinet with the organization of family members transportation to the site of the accident site and finding financing necessary to help the families and opening a telephone hotline. Prime Minister Rafael Baidavletov signed a decree on setting up a governmental commission for the organization of funerals of the children killed in the air crash in Germany on July 2.

Russia’s TU-154 and the DHL-owned Boeing-757 cargo plane collided over Germany at a height of 12,000 meters. Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/07/02/43553.html