News

During the investigation opened by the Eastern Siberian Transport Office of the Investigative Committee into a crime under Part 3 of Article 263 of the RF Penal Code (violation of safety standards for traffic and operation of air transport that entailed death of two or more people) investigative operations are ongoing to find out the reasons and circumstances of the crash of Ilyushin Il-76 plane owned by the Air Rescue Company of the Emergency Ministry that happened on 1 July 2016.

The investigative team of the Eastern Siberian Transport Office of the Investigative Committee has finished examining the crash site which lies in hard-to-reach area on the slope of a volcano of about 7,000 square km in area. The examination showed that the plane was almost completely destroyed after it hit trees, crashed on the ground and then caught fire. Everybody aboard the plane died.

The dead bodies of ten crew members found during the examination of the crash site have been delivered to the city of Irkutsk. To identify them the investigators have assigned forensic medical and DNA tests for which DNA samples have been taken from the crew’s relatives.

The investigators have confiscated documents on technical maintenance of the plane before the flight and medical examination of the crew. Magnetic media containing talks of the crew with flight controllers have been confiscated from aeronautical service and the ones containing the data on radar control of the plane’s route. The investigators have questioned officials of the regional branch of the Federal Air Transport Agency, those who fuelled the plane before the flight and flight controllers. Their personal files, documents on medical examination and their permissions to flight have been confiscated.

At the moment the investigators are confiscating the documents on technical examination and capital overhaul of the Il-76 plane, questioning the managers and employees of the Air Rescue Company of the Emergency Ministry which owned the plane, persons involved in organization of the flight, staff of the Ramenskoye airfield who serviced the plane before it went to suppress fires in Irkutsk Region. The investigation continues.