Air investigation of 1996 Spitzbergen crash ends

Published: 12/9/1999

One of the longest running air investigations has now come to an end. MAK has reported that Russia and Norway have concluded that the Tu-154M belonging to Vnukovo Airlines, which crashed in August 1996 into a mountain on the Spitzbergen archipelago, was caused by crew error. 141 people died in the tragedy. The plane was carrying miners from Russia and Ukraine, together with members of their families, from Moscow to Longiir, en route to Barenzbourg, the site of the Arcticugol mines. According to MAK, the investigation revealed no failures or faults linked to the aircraft itself nor to ground equipment. It reported that the pilots had deviated from the established approach to landing in mountainous territory and that the crew were not certain of the exact position or whether they were in the correct position to land. They also failed to circle a second time to confirm adequate altitude levels. Preliminary theories as to the cause of the crash had focused on possible defects in the airport navigation equipment and the fact that the local dispatcher had not been sufficiently urgent in giving the order to gain altitude up to 1500m. Unconfirmed reports had suggested that the dispatchers had paid disproportionate attention to a VIP plane landing at the time, but this was not discussed in the final report.Now the commission has made a number of recommendations designed to prevent a similar tragedy.

Article ID: 1196