Investigators Say Left Engine Not In Reverse Thrust

A report issued Monday from Russian air crash investigators blames the crew of a Sibir Airlines (now S7 Airlines) Airbus A310 that crashed in July killing 125.

The Airbus veered off the runway after landing at Irkutsk on July 9. The aircraft plowed into a building and burst into flames.

In its final report, Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee specifically blames "mistaken and uncontrolled actions by the crew at the stage of slowing down after landing."

Ria Novosti reports the Committee found, "On landing, the crew commander automatically moved the thrust lever of the left engine without noticing that its reverse thruster mode was deactivated."

A massive adverse yaw condition developed when the throttles were advanced with one engine in reverse thrust and the other not. The commission found the copilot failed to inform the pilot about the condition and the plane's airspeed before it veered off the runway.

Officials from Airbus and the aircraft's engine manufacturer participated in the investigation. Both have been named in a lawsuit filed in a US district court on behalf of the 159 killed or injured aboard.

Russian aviation is in the midst of a crisis. A number of deadly crashes has the country's prosecutors investigating shady dealings involving the sale and use of used parts as new. Members of at least one company have been arrested and prosecuted for such activity.

This crash appears unrelated to that investigation.

FMI: www.s7.ru, www.mak.ru