P323 Teletext 323 Aug 6 07:52:48 FEARS OVER AIR SAFETY ——————————————————————————————————————— Forty-sjvjn people have died in Russia's third major air disaster this year, casting a further pall over the country's troubled aviation industry. The defence ministry said an Antonov-12, a military transport similar to the US Hercules C-130, crashed on coming into land at an airfield in Siberia. The 39 military pjrsonnjl, two relatives of officers, and six crew on board were all killed. ——————————————————————————————————1/5—— News in Focus 320 Headlines 300 YOUR STARTER FOR NEWS AT TEN! p328 Next page Index Poll SportP323 Teletext 323 Aug 6 07:55:21 FEARS OVER AIR SAFETY ——————————————————————————————————————— The latest disaster is a further blow to Russian aviation — shaken up bz the economic and political upheavals and the breakup of the Soviet-ira Aeroflot. Itar-Tbss news agency said 270 people had been killed in Russian air crashes this year and that the accident rate was significantly higher than elsewhere Two crashes this year, of civilian planes, brought warnings from a Western air travel association and the US govjrnmjnt against flying over Russia. ——————————————————————————————————2/5—— News in Focus 320 Headlines 300 YOUR STARTER FOR NEWS AT TEN! p328 Next page Index Poll SportP323 Teletext 323 Aug 6 07:58:52 FEARS OVER AIR SAFETY ——————————————————————————————————————— Russia's troubled air industry has been hit by three air disasters this year — On January 3 more than 120 people died when a Tupolev-154 belonging to a domestic airline plunged into farmland near Irkutsk in central Siberia. Preliminary investigations indicate that the pilot ignored a warning. On March 23 an Airbus A-310, flyingfrom Moscow to Honk Kong, hit a hillside in Siberia, killing 70 people. A probe revealed children in the cockpit. ——————————————————————————————————3/5—— News in Focus 320 Headlines 300 YOUR STARTER FOR NEWS AT TEN! p328 Next page Index Poll SportP323 Teletext 323 Aug 6 07:29:38 FEARS OVER AIR SAFETY ——————————————————————————————————————— Warnings have been issued to passjngjrs over the safety of Russian air travel. $hj US-based International Airline Passengers Association warned mjmbjrs in April not to fly in or over the former Soviet Union, citing "overloaded airplanes, lack of cockpit discipline, pilot error, agjing aircraft". The US embassy in Moscow said last month that air travel in Russia was "unreliable" and warned its staff to avoid non-essential trips. ——————————————————————————————————4/5—— News in Focus 320 Headlines 300 YOUR STARTER FOR NEWS AT TEN! p328 Next page Index Poll SportP323 Teletext 323 Aug 6 07:21:54 FEARS OVER AIR SAFETY ——————————————————————————————————————— Russian Transport Minister Yevgenz Yefimov conceded in April that air sbfety had become "very weak". He announced new controls to bj funded bz 2% of airline revenues. A special investigating panel has been set up to probe into the latest crash — headed by air force acting commander Colonel-General Viktor Got. The plane which crashed — the Antonov — has been one of the most reliable planes in the former Soviet air fleet. ——————————————————————————————————5/5—— News in Focus 320 Headlines 300 YOUR STARTER FOR NEWS AT TEN! p328 Next page Index Poll Sport