Russian transport agency calls for grounding of Ilyushin jets due to braking problems

Transport inspectors in Russia called for the immediate grounding of all Ilyushin 96-300 commercial jets due to problems with their braking systems.

The federal agency overseeing transport inspections said in a statement that the Il-96-300 wide body jets had suffered several incidents in August involving brakes.

The agency was seeking nationwide grounding of planes from the Transport Ministry, the statement said.

It was unclear how many planes would be affected by the order, but the Web site Airliners.com said only 15 models were in service, most of which are used by Aeroflot.

During a trip to Finland earlier this month, pilots flying President Vladimir Putin's government jet had to abort takeoff after the Il-96-300 suffered an unspecified mechanical problem. Putin returned to Moscow on a backup Il-62 jet, the AP reports.