Siberia crash blamed on pilots

Investigators say pilots "turned too sharply"

By Jonathan Charles in Moscow

Russian investigators have blamed last week's plane crash in Siberia, which killed 145 people, on pilot error.

The Tupolev154 passenger jet crashed as it was trying to land at Irkutsk airport after a flight from the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

Tu-154 crashes

1994 125 died

1994 160 died

1995 97 died

1996 141 died

The Russian authorities have investigated the disaster swiftly, keen to identify the cause of the crash and to reassure worried passengers about the state of the country's airlines.

After analysing the black box flight recorders the investigators found the pilots had turned the aircraft too sharply as it came in to land at Irkutsk airport.

Plane flipped over

They apparently ignored warning systems in the cockpit.

The plane then flipped over and plummeted 850m to the ground, killing everyone on board.

The disaster has raised fresh questions about the safety of the ageing Russian commercial aircraft fleet.

Many companies do not have the money to buy new planes and the pilots complain they are overworked as firms try to cut costs.

Some pilots work 40 hours a week, even though state regulations stipulate they should fly for only half that time.

The authorities are now looking at whether more enforcement of the law is required - a greater effort to make flying here much safer.