Russian investigators say pilot error caused Lokomotiv crash
November 2, 2011, 04:49 pm
Investigators for the Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) in Moscow, Russia, have determined that the recent plane crash that killed 44, including all members of the Kontinental Hockey League's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, was caused by pilot error, according to the New York Post.
The airplane, which crashed into the Volga River just a few hundred yards beyond the runway at the Yaroslavl Airport, was found to have experienced no mechanical failure, and investigators said there were no fires or explosions on the plane before the crash. Weather was also not a factor.
Investigators cited medical reports from 2000 and 2005 that said the pilot's leg and arm reflexes were deteriorating, and a toxicology test found phenobarbital, a banned barbiturate that has a depressive effect on the central nervous system.
The MAK report said that the pilot mistakenly applied the brakes during takeoff, then pulled up too sharply in an attempt to gain altitude, losing control of the plane.
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