Interstate Aviation Committee Report Says Brakes Applied During Takeoff, Co-Pilot Tested Positive For Drugs

The September crash of a Yak-42 which resulted in the fatal injury of the entire Russian hockey team Lokomotiv was caused by multiple pilot errors, according to the official report from the Interstate Aviation Committee.

The report, published Wednesday in Russia, says that the primary cause of the accident was "incorrect braking," which caused problems during takeoff. In the report, the chair of the investigations technical commission Aleksey Morozov wrote that both pilots had previously flown Yak-40s, which have a different brake pedal configuration than the Yak-42. “Erroneous pressing of the braking pedals by the crew during take-off is only possible if a pilot’s feet are placed wrongly. An action, which is small in terms of force applied and movement of the pedal, may not be noticed by the pilot,” he said, adding that had the crew aborted the takeoff, the accident would have been avoided.

The report also says that neither pilot was adequately trained in the Yak-42, and places the blame for the lack of training on Yak-Service, the airline which owned the aircraft. “The captain of the vehicle didn’t receive the full piloting course for a Yak-42, just the theoretical part. The simulator training was treated as a pure formality and done irregularly, so proper piloting skills couldn’t build up,” the commission chair said.

The Russian News Service RT Novosti reports that another contributing factor, according to the document, was the presence of Phenobarbital in the co-pilot's blood. He reportedly had a history of medical problems.

The report says that the plane was airworthy, and there was no mechanical failure leading to the crash. The IAC also dismissed the suggestion that the crew was under pressure from Air Traffic Control to depart quickly due to a high number of flights the day of the accident.

FMI: www.mak.ru/english/english.html