Technical fault to blame for Il-86 disaster

The deciphering of the "black boxes" belonging to Russia's Il-86 which crashed Sunday when taking off from Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport confirms the prime version pursued by an investigating commission: it is a technological failure that is to blame. This information has been provided by Valery Chernyayev, chief of the investigating commission.

The tragedy was caused by the jamming of the plane's stabilizer, believes Chernyayev. Shortly after the take-off, the stabilizer took a spontaneous position which ridded the plane of its support on an air cushion underneath and deprived it of a required lift. The liner banked sharply with its left wing going down while the small altitude prevented the crew from managing this non-routine situation, said the expert.

The Il-86 aircraft fell down from a height of 200 metres half a kilometre away from the airport's runway, killing 14 members of the crew and injuring two stewardesses were been hospitalized.