More Than 40 Killed In Serious Air Accident

Aviation law experts at Irwin Mitchell have called for authorities in Russia to work quickly to discover the cause of a devastating plane crash in Karelia which led to the deaths of 44 people.
 
The RusAir Tupolev 134 aircraft, which was flying from Moscow, reportedly came down around a kilometre from Petrozavodsk Airport after attempting to land on a motorway in severe weather conditions.
 
Eight people are thought to have been seriously injured in the air accident, while people from the Netherlands, Sweden, Ukraine and some Russians with dual US citizenship have been confirmed as among the dead.
 
The crash has come just months after a plane crash involving a Tupolev TU-154 at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow, which claimed the lives of two people and left more than 80 injured.
 
Experts in Irwin Mitchell’s Aviation Law team represent people who have been injured in air accidents around the world, as well as the families of those who have died in such tragedies.
 
Former RAF pilot Jim Morris, a Partner in the team, said the Karelia crash would once again put the spotlight on flight safety in relation to Tupolev aircraft.
 
He explained: “This is sadly the latest in a series of crashes involving Tupolev planes and probably the most high-profile since the accident in April last year in which all 96 people onboard a TU-154, including the Polish president Lech Kaczynski, died.
 
“It is clear there are questions to be answered as to how this new incident happened, particularly why the plane was seemingly attempting to land on a motorway and what impact the weather conditions may have had.  It is vital to determine the extent to which fault(s) with the aircraft, avionics, instrumentation and/ or crew contributed to this tragic crash.
 
“We hope that experts work quickly and thoroughly to learn more about events in the run-up to the crash, as the families of those killed will undoubtedly be demanding some clarity as to what happened.
 
“Any findings will also then have to considered in line with previous Tupolev crashes to ensure that lessons can be learnt and every effort can be made to ensure passenger safety remains a priority.”