 A RusAir Tupolev Tu-134, similar to the aircraft involved | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Tupolev Tu-134 |
| Operator | RusAir |
| Registration | RA-65691 |
| Flight origin | Domodedovo International Airport |
| Destination | Petrozavodsk Airport |
| Passengers | 43 |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 44 |
| Injuries | 8 |
| Survivors | 8 |
RusAir Flight 243 was a scheduled RusAir flight, operating as a RusLine service, between Domodedovo International Airport and Petrozavodsk Airport, operated by a Tupolev Tu-134, registry RA-65691, that crashed on approach to Petrozavodsk on the evening of 20 June 2011, killing 44 people and injuring eight more.[1]
Incident
The aircraft crashed onto a highway while on final approach to Petrozavodsk Airport, about 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) short of the runway.[1][2] The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, though there was reportedly poor weather at the time, including heavy fog[3][4], and the aircraft had apparently attempted to land on the highway before crashing.[2][5] ITAR-TASS reported that a law enforcement official in the area said that the aircraft suffered mechanical problems while approching the airport, possibly leading to the decision to land on the road.[6] According to the office of the emergency ministry in Karelia, the republic the incident occurred in, radio contact with the plane had been lost at 23:40 local time (19:40 Zulu Time), shortly before the aircraft crashed.[5][1]
Casualties
There were 43 passengers and nine crewmembers on board the aircraft, a total of 52, of which 44 were killed and the remaining eight injured, one critically.[1]
| Country | Dead | Injured |
|---|---|---|
 Russia | 34 | 8 |
Russia/ USA | 4 | |
 Armenia | 1 | |
 Ukraine | 2 | |
 Netherlands | 1 | |
 Sweden | 1 | |
| Total | 44 | 8 |
Aftermath
By around 01:00 on 21 June, the fire at the crash site had been extinguished, and both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder had been recovered.[1] Those injured were initially sent to local hospitals, but were planned to be later transported to Moscow via an Ilyushin Il-76 with doctors and psychologists on board.[1]
According to an official at Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations, an investigation into the incident was begun shortly after the crash.[6]