Engine failure ruled out in Russian airline crash

MOSCOW (AP) — Investigators on Thursday ruled out engine failure as causing the weekend plane crash in Russia that killed all 88 people on board.

The Interstate Aviation Committee said both engines on the Boeing 737-500 were working when it crashed Sunday while preparing to land in the Ural Mountains city of Perm. The plane belonged to the Russian carrier Aeroflot-Nord.

Russian transport officials initially blamed the crash on a faulty engine that caught fire, but the investigating committee said it found no sign of engine fire.

"There is no indication of an engine fire or the aircraft breaking up in the air," said the committee, which investigates air crashes in Russia and other ex-Soviet nations.

"Both engines were working until the plane hit the ground," it said.

Investigators have yet to determine what caused the crash — Russia's worst air disaster in two years.

Flight controller Irek Bikbov said in remarks broadcast by state-run Channel One television over the weekend that the jet's pilot was behaving strangely, disobeying orders to descend on the final approach and instead taking the jet to a higher altitude. Bikbov said he then ordered the pilot to make a second run, but instead of making the right turn he turned left. When the controller asked the pilot if things were normal on board, the pilot answered positively.

Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.