FSVT is unhappy with accident levels

Published: 5/17/2000

In a study of the issues relating to air safety, the FSVT has declared that it is unhappy with the level of accidents among charter and helicopter operators. Since the beginning of 2000, eight accidents have occurred compared with 21 during the whole of 1999 according to the FSVT, of which four are attributable to helicopter operators and two crashes to charter flights. The reason for the high level of incidents among the specified categories is attributed by the FSVT to lax regulation among the management of companies operating in these sectors. In an effort to persuade managements of their seriousness in tackling the problem, the FSVT is threatening to suspend the licences of those operators that it feels are not tackling the problems with sufficient rigor. The names of those seen as being below acceptable standards are by no means solely the plethora of Russia's tiny operators. The FSVT cites three airlines within the top 25 Russian airlines as being at fault including Orenburg Airlines, Tyumenaviatrans (TAT) and Vladivostok-Avia, as having the worst records. TAT's General Director Andrey Martirosov believes that the situation is not that bad, claiming that the three Mi-8s lost by TAT in 1999 and one in 2000 have to be seen in the context of the airline's fleet of 278 helicopters. Although he did not mention how many TAT helicopters are actually flying, to give some idea of the crashes relative to operational aircraft. He did say, however, that they treat safety seriously and pilots found breaching regulation were punished.

Article ID: 1776