Anti-submarine planes grounded
After a Russian military Tu-142 plane crashed on the Far East on Saturday, killing all the eleven crew members on board, Russian navy has temporarily grounded all planes of this type.
The accident happened right before landing at an air base in the far Eastern part of Russia, Izvestia reports. The aircraft crashed into the sea, and all aboard were probably killed immediately. Until the cause of the accident has been explained, all flights with the Tu-142 aircraft have been abolished.
The Tu-142 (NATO name Bear-F) is a maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare turboprop aircraft that has been in use in the Northern and Pacific fleets since 1975. Only two accidents are known to have happened to this type of air craft earlier, one in 1976 and one in 1984, according to Wikipedia.
- This aircraft is one of our most reliable, says Commander of the Northern Fleet air squadron Aleksander Bukeyev. – I have no idea what could have caused the accident. The fact that the weather conditions were good and that the plane was newer than ours, makes it even more incomprehensible.
The Northern Fleet’s squadron of Tu-142 aircrafts is based in Fedotovo, Vologda Oblast, to the south of Arkhangelsk Oblast.
