Weather afterwords: Superjet 100 landing gear will be finalized to avoid accidents
The accident in Turkey's Antalya, where a plane arriving from Sochi caught fire after a hard landing at the airport, is the third case of a Superjet landing gear strut puncturing a fuel tank. After a similar incident in 2018, the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) recommended that the developer make changes to the design of the airliner's landing gear to reduce the risk of fuel leaks during hard landings. Now the IAC recommendations are being worked out by the developer, the Ministry of Industry and Trade told Izvestia. After testing, the design solutions will be implemented on the new Superjet 100. At the same time, the cause of the emergency situation could also be the weather, aviation experts and meteorologists note - the landing took place in a gusty wind. Lawyers interviewed by Izvestia believe that those responsible for the accident may face up to two years in prison - the responsibility may well be placed on the crew.
Why could the airplane catch fire?
The cause of fuel spillage and subsequent fire of the airplane of the airline "Azimut" during landing at Antalya airport could be a strong impact of the aircraft on the runway during landing due to unfavorable weather conditions. This "Izvestia" was reported in the "United Aircraft Corporation" (UAC, the manufacturer of Superjet 100).
No failures of SSJ-100 systems were recorded on the eve of landing. The circumstances of the incident are to be established by a specially created commission, UAC added. The corporation noted that flight safety of the SSJ-100 aircraft fleet is at a consistently high level.
- Regularity of departures of aircraft of this type in commercial airlines of the Russian Federation in 2024 is within 97-98%. At the same time, the total flight time of the SSJ-100 fleet in 2022-2023 exceeds the pre-pandemic indicators by more than 50%," UAC noted.
A plane catches fire in Turkey, November 24, 2024
According to Izvestia's source in the aviation industry, the plane probably hit the runway hard due to wind shear.
- The Superjet's systems worked properly, including the left landing gear strut brackets. This was designed for safety reasons, so that the fuel tanks remained intact. The left engine, apparently, hit the runway and began to lose fuel. Then there was a fire - from sparks, which plume flew behind the plane after touching the runway, - he suggested.
The accident with the SSJ-100 aircraft, which was flying the flight A4-5051 of Azimut Airlines on the Sochi-Antalya route, occurred on November 24 and resulted in landing gear failure and fire due to fuel spillage. The plane was landing in strong winds and at around 22:30 made a hard landing, during which it bounced twice, the media reported.
- Passengers were safely delivered to the airport terminal, there were no casualties, - reported in the airline "Azimut". According to the Turkish Ministry of Transportation, 89 people and six crew members were evacuated from the plane.
Similar incidents with the SSJ-100 airplane have happened before. On October 10, 2018, at Yakutsk airport after landing, the SSJ-100 of Yakutia Airlines rolled outside the runway during braking and taxiing due to icing. According to the IAC report, the landing gear struts snapped and fuel spilled out while rolling out of the runway. There was no fire, so the three crew members and 87 passengers were not injured.
The story that happened to another Aeroflot Superjet in May 2019 is much sadder. During a rough landing and subsequent "goose-stepping", the SSJ-100 damaged the fuel tank, which caused the airliner to catch fire. As a result, according to the Russian Investigative Committee, 41 people died out of the 73 passengers and five crew members on board.
Back in 2018, after the accident in Yakutsk, the IAC made recommendations to the designer of the SSJ-100 aircraft to make changes to the landing gear design to reduce the risk of fuel leaks during hard landings. In addition, the IAC was asked to make a decision to finalize the existing landing gear design taking into account the forecast assessment of the risks of operating this type of machine.
- We already know the weak point where the breakthrough and fuel leaks occur," Andrei Patrakov, founder of the RunAvia flight safety service, told Izvestia. - These are the landing gear mounts to the rear wall of the wing spar. Even after the first incident, the IAC noted in its report the need to improve the design of the airliner so that fuel leaks during rough landings would not occur.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade told Izvestia that the recommendations of the IAC commission that investigated the accident with Yakutia's Superjet 100 have been worked out by the designer.
- After passing the necessary tests, the design solutions will be implemented on the new Superjet 100 aircraft. After that, a service bulletin will be issued to finalize the flying fleet," the department noted.
The manufacturer is carrying out works that will allow to bring the capabilities of the Superjet 100 landing gear beyond the operational limits (assumptions), Rosaviatsia told Izvestia.
Thereliability indicators of Superjet aircraft in operation correspond to aircraft of similar class of foreign-made aircraft - for example, Airbus and Boeing, the Ministry of Industry and Trade added.
The IAC report in clause 5.15 recommended thatthe developer of the RRJ-95 aircraft (the registered name of the Superjet) "together with the certifying organizations to consider the expediency of making changes to the landing gear design to reduce the risk of fuel leakage after exposure to loads exceeding the design loads". The Aviation Committee also recommended that a decision be made to finalize the airliners.
A similar requirement is contained in certification legislation, including aviation regulations "Fuel Tanks: General Provisions", said Oleg Panteleyev, executive director of Aviaport, aviation expert.
- It says that any aircraft must be designed in such a way that in case of estimated damage the fuel does not spill and does not create a threat of ignition in case of an accident," he said.
Refinements have not been made, although they could and should have been started as early as 2018 after the first airplane accident, Andrei Patrakov said.
- The aircraft designer could be advised to initiate an airworthiness directive and issue a service bulletin with a decision to rework all remaining SSJ-100 aircraft in operation to constructively rework the necessary elements, including the landing gear attachment point to the rear wall of the wing spar," he explained.
Another reason for the hard landing could be "wind shear", experts of the meteorological center "Phobos" believe.
- The weather at the airport during the landing was ambiguous - on the one hand, the visual conditions were simple - there was neither low cloud cover nor any phenomena that impaired visibility, but there was a gusty headwind," they said.
Yuri Bordunov, deputy director of the Khabarovsk Aviation and Sports Club for flight training, explained to Izvestia that a shift is a change in wind direction and speed. According to him, this weather phenomenon is extremely dangerous precisely during landing, as at high altitude the crew has more time to cope with the wind.
Details of what happened
The plane, flying on November 24 on the Sochi-Antalya route, could not land for a long time, the decline lasted about an hour, one of the passengers Yulia Kostina told Izvestia.
- At first, the pilot said that the plane should land in about 20 minutes, and we started the descent. But in the end the landing lasted about 40-50 minutes. I thought for a long time why we kept circling and could not land," she recalls. - And when we finally landed, there was a sharp bang and the plane immediately slowed down, stopped and there was silence.
According to her, after the hard landing, the lights went out on board for about a minute, and then a stewardess appeared and asked everyone to stay in their seats. But one of the passengers, Yulia Kostina added, saw smoke through the window and started shouting about it.
- It was no longer possible to remain calm. Passengers started to get up and ask to open the emergency exit," Yulia recalled. - Eventually a man opened the emergency gangway, as the stewardess could not cope, and the evacuation began. All the passengers moved from the airplane to the ground, in my experience, literally in two minutes. We all have a second birthday today.
Another passenger, Yevgeniya Lavrienko, who lives in Antalya, confirmed to Izvestia that there was a sharp bump on landing. But, she said, the fire was noticed not only by the man, but also by the rest of the plane's passengers, which increased the panic.
- After the hard landing, children screamed, many hit, there was absolute silence in the cabin of the airplane, after which the pilot announced that all personnel should come up to him," she recalled. - Then there was an explosion, flames flashed through the windows. People realized that there was a fire, started panicking, getting up from their seats, trying to get their suitcases. There was a crush.
Despite the panic, all the passengers were evacuated and all survived, said Evgeniya.
Both women noted that fire trucks arrived on the scene quite quickly and quickly extinguished the inflamed aircraft.
- After evacuation we were not told what to do, so many panicked. Then a man ran out and shouted in Turkish for everyone to run to the bus before the plane exploded. There was no more pressure in the bus, people calmed down," said Yevgeniya Lavrienko.
According to her, it was scary to experience such a thing, especially considering that she was with a child.
- At first I did not understand what was happening, I realized only at the airport and cried, because it was really scary for my life and for the life of the child, " she concluded.
What punishment is threatened to those responsible for the incident
The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on the fact of the aircraft fire under Part 1 Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Violation of the rules of safety of movement and operation of air transport").
Investigators have already inspected the place of departure of the plane at Sochi airport, seized documentation and appointed forensic examinations.
"Now investigative actions are being carried out to establish all the circumstances, causes and conditions of the incident," - stated in the message of the SKR.
The initiation of a criminal case under Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is due to the need for a thorough investigation of the causes and circumstances of the accident, lawyer Andrei Mishonov explained to Izvestia. According to him, the purpose of such an investigation is to establish possible violations of the rules of aircraft operation that could have led to the accident.
He reminded that such measures are taken not only in case of fire, but also in case of other incidents with aircraft.
- For example, after the hard landing of an airplane at Sochi airport in August 2024, a criminal case was opened under Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Similarly, after the emergency landing of an An-3 airplane in Yakutia in October 2024, a criminal case under the same article was also initiated," he said.
Andrei Mishonov noted thatsince the accident did not cause serious consequences, the possible perpetrators of the incident, for example, the commander of the ship and the rest of the crew may face imprisonment - up to two years. They may also be fined up to 200 thousand rubles.
What compensation is due to the victims
In case of an airplane fire, passengers are entitled to compensation, reminded Andrei Mishonov. According to him, they are provided for the loss of luggage or personal belongings, for flight delay, for injury or death, as well as for moral damage.
The damage caused to passengers , according to the IC, amounted to about 1 million rubles.
Azimut airline will pay Br100 thousand as compensation for material and moral damage to all those who were on board the plane that caught fire in Antalya, the press service of the carrier said.
According to the victim Evgenia Lavrienko, representatives of Azimut did not contact the passengers immediately after the incident. Then they promptly wrote a collective appeal to the carrier, indicating in the document that they inhaled carbon monoxide and asked the airline for proper support.
The Russian Union of Travel Industry (RST) and the Association of Tour Operators (ATOR) agreed that it was the airline carrier that was primarily responsible for the incident. The PCT pointed out that the organization in case of an incident is obliged to provide passengers with accommodation and meals at its own expense.
In ATOR and PCT noted that hoteliers are often in the position of the affected passengers and give them the opportunity to check in later. Representatives of the travel industry believe that the incident with the plane in Antalya due to the prompt resolution and lack of casualties will not have a negative impact on tourist traffic.
