Serious safety violations found at Russian airline a month before fatal crash, Izvestia says
The plane, which was 49 years old, crashed as it prepared to land, in an incident that highlighted the use of old, Soviet-era aircraft and raised questions about their viability, with Western sanctions limiting access to investment and spare parts.
Russia's transport ministry said on Friday that aviation and transport regulators would investigate the privately-owned Angara's activities to check if it is complying with federal aviation rules before taking a decision about its future.
Vasily Orlov, the governor of the Amur region where the plane came down, said on Friday that investigators were working on the crash site and that there were two main theories about what had caused it: technical failure and pilot error.
The plane's black boxes had been recovered and were being sent to Moscow to be studied, he said.
Citing documents it had seen from Russia's airline and transport regulators, Izvestia said that transport safety inspectors had carried out a spot check on Angara in June which had uncovered concerns related to the servicing of its planes.
Eight of Angara's planes had been temporarily grounded due to the inspection, it said, and four of its technical staff temporarily banned from carrying out technical inspections.
Angara and Rostransnadzor, the transport regulator, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Reuters could not independently verify the details of the inspection.
Izvestia said that inspectors had drawn attention to the fact that the company's documents had shown that planes had sometimes purportedly been serviced by staff who other documents showed were not working on the relevant days.
The standard rules and methods of servicing were also not being followed by staff, some of whom did not have the necessary qualifications for such work, Izvestia said.
In one instance, documents showed that a special piece of testing equipment needed to check a plane's control panel had not been physically issued even though other documents showed someone had signed off that the test had been done.
"I ask you to present a plan to fix the violations identified, a report about the reasons for them, and measures being taken to ensure they do not occur," a letter from Rostransnadzor, the transport regulator, to Angara sent after the inspection said, according to Izvestia.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26auto%3Dwebp%26quality%3D75%26trim%3D55%2C0%2C56%2C0%26crop%3D&w=3840&q=100)
Scotsman
43 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Search for Viking life - and boat burial - on tiny Nave Island off Islay
The excavation could be a breathrough in the understanding of the Viking presence on Islay. Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A search for the first Viking house or possible boat burial on Islay is to get under way. Archaeologists will move on to tiny Nave Island, which sits just at the mouth of Loch Gruinart, following the findings of an earlier investigation in 2022. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Nave Island spans just 43 hectares and sits on the western 'sea road' of Britain but, despite the high volume of place names on Islay which are derived from Norse, no evidence of Viking-era dwellings or classic boat burials have yet been found. READ MORE: Travels routes of Vikings across Scotland to be mapped like never before Now a team from Reading University are to return to Nave Island after preliminary investigtions suggested that a piece of land close to a Christian site, which had its roots in a 6th Century monastic complex, could have been a place of importance for Viking settlers. The site of interest - which commands 'spectacular views' over the narrow stretch of sea to the Islay mainland - is a stone and earth structure around 20m in length with rounded ends and curved or bowed sides. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A report from archaeologists who investigated the site said: 'This research has established that the earthwork has similarities with Viking or late Norse domestic structures recorded from the Western and Northern Isles, but can also be compared to Viking funerary monuments, in particular boat burials from the Irish Sea Zone. 'The recent survey work has, therefore, opened new lines of inquiry thatcould be pursued to advance understanding of not only this monument, but also medieval exploitation of the wider Islay landscape.' READ MORE: Incredible journey of star item in the Galloway Hoard revealed for the first time While Viking houses or boat burials - usually associated with high-status figures - have not yet been found on Islay , the archaeological record shows at least seven Viking graves and a coin hoard are known. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scandinavian artefacts found near Ballinbay on Islay indicate a Viking cemetery, with further mid to high status burials discovered near Bridgend. A late 10th Century hoard unearthed on Machrie farm included more than 90 coins, including examples minted by the English king Aethelstan and the Viking kings of York, as well as some silver ignots. Professor Steve Mithen, from Reading University, and his team now seek to expand understanding of the Viking presence on Islay after Historic Environment Scotland approved an excavation of the site. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad While there are no written accounts of Viking activity on Islay, raids on nearby Rathlin Island and Iona illustrate that Norse warlords were operating in the area as early as 785AD. While now uninhabited and owned by Islay Estates, the last recorded residents of Nave Island were kelp burners who built their oven and chimney within the chapel ruins, the report from the investigation team said. Traces of earlier farm settlements dating from the medieval period were also found. Traces of Viking boat burials in Scotland are relatively rare, with only around 10 such sites found in Scotland to date. They range from the Ardnamurchan boat burial on the mainland, where a a high-ranking warrior was found with his weapons to the Scar boat burial in Orkney, where a woman, man, and child were buried together. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Sierra Leone chimp refuge shuts doors to tourists to protest deforestation
FREETOWN, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The eco-lodges and tree-covered footpaths of West Africa's largest chimpanzee refuge have been devoid of tourists for more than two months as its founder stages a protest about rampant deforestation in Sierra Leone. Authorities acknowledge that the country's rich wildlife is threatened by land seizures and illegal logging, but the founder of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Bala Amarasekaran, says they have not yet done enough about it to convince him to reopen to visitors. "A few months back, we could see the land grabbing and the encroachment coming closer to the sanctuary," Amarasekaran told Reuters at the refuge, which is home to more than 100 mainly orphaned chimps and normally lets guests stay in its lodges. "(Deforestation) is really threatening the sanctuary's existence, because it's too dangerous when people come close to a wildlife preserve like this," said Amarasekaran, who founded the refuge 30 years ago and has led it through crises including civil war and the 2013-2016 Ebola epidemic. Sierra Leone lost approximately 2.17 million hectares (5.36 million acres) of tree cover between 2001 and 2024, representing about 39% of the total in 2000, according to online tracker Global Forest Watch. The Western Area Peninsula, home to the capital Freetown and Tacugama, lost more than 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of tree cover during that same period. Amarasekaran said deforestation in the area was fuelled by "land grabbing" for development. The consequences of rapid deforestation were highlighted by a mudslide on the slopes of Mount Sugar Loaf in 2017 that killed an estimated 1,000 people. A 2019 paper published by the Geological Society of London blamed the incident on a mix of heavy rain, deforested slopes and unchecked construction. It said tree loss had weakened the soil's ability to absorb water and hold together, worsening the mudflow. "It's a serious problem, an existential problem," Sierra Leone's Information Minister Chernor Bah told Reuters. "We regret that the Tacugama authorities have taken the step that they have taken to shut down here, but it's one that we understand." Amarasekaran said President Julius Maada Bio's government had dispatched a task force to conduct some raids on illegal logging operations, but complained about a lack of follow-up operations. Bah said the government was committed to protecting the peninsula's forests.
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
Inside abandoned Soviet-era nuclear missile base where three people died hidden deep underground in forests of Lithuania
The base housed Soviet R-12 Dvina missiles and remained a secret until US spies spotted it in 1978 SECRET BASE Inside abandoned Soviet-era nuclear missile base where three people died hidden deep underground in forests of Lithuania Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) DEEP in the forests of western Lithuania, a chilling relic of the Cold War still lies hidden — a secret underground nuclear missile base where three people lost their lives. The Plokštinė Missile Base, buried in Žemaitija National Park about 30 miles from the Baltic Sea, once housed Soviet R-12 Dvina missiles pointed at Western Europe. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 8 Soviet-era nuclear missile base in Lithuania where three people died is now a Cold War Museum Credit: Wikimedia Commons 8 Hidden deep underground in forests, it housed missiles pointed at Western Europe Credit: Wikimedia Commons 8 Three people lost their lives at the nuclear missile base Credit: Wikimedia Commons Today, it's the park's top tourist draw, transformed into the Cold War Museum and attracting 35,000 visitors in 2024 alone. But behind the eerie exhibits of Lenin statues, Soviet flags and dimly lit tunnels lies a deadly history. Museum guide Aušra Brazdeikytė, who grew up nearby, told CNN: "A soldier fell to his death when his [safety] belt broke during a routine service check. "Two other soldiers died during a nitric acid spill while trying to refuel the missile." Completed in 1962 after two years of construction involving more than 10,000 workers, the base was one of the USSR's most secretive sites. Surrounded by barbed wire and a two‑mile electric fence, it remained hidden until US satellites finally spotted it in 1978 — by which time it had already been decommissioned under disarmament agreements. The entrance, still marked by a Russian sign reading 'Please, wipe your feet,' leads down to a labyrinth of rooms and four silos plunging 100 feet underground. Visitors can now peer into the abyss of one of the shafts, which never launched a missile but claimed lives during service. The site once housed around 300 soldiers in a ghost town nearby — bizarrely converted into a children's summer camp called Žuvėdra ('seagull') after the base shut down. Its bus stop still bears a mural of a gnome on a mushroom holding a flower. Inside abandoned Antarctic clifftop 'ghost station' where Soviet boffins battled -90C gales 1000s of miles from anywhere After Lithuania broke free from Soviet rule in 1990, the base was abandoned and stripped for scrap. It reopened as a museum in 2012 with EU funding, giving the public rare access to a facility once designed for nuclear war. Today, the stark remains of the Plokštinė base — its mud‑covered hangars resembling ancient pyramids — stand in sharp contrast to the idyllic lakes and forests around it. The region, once a militarized zone bristling with rockets, is now a gem of slow travel in Lithuania. The museum's exhibits walk visitors through propaganda, weapons technology and daily life under Soviet control. Lifelike mannequins dressed as grim soldiers add to the unsettling atmosphere, making the underground tour feel like stepping back into the Iron Curtain era. For locals like Brazdeikytė, memories of the base run deep. She recalls soldiers becoming part of everyday life, often working on nearby collective farms but never daring to talk about what lay beneath the forest floor. 8 Base, once surrounded by barbed wire, opened as museum in 2012 with EU funding Credit: Wikimedia Commons 8 Visitors can now peer into the abyss of one of the shafts, which never launched a missile but claimed lives during service Credit: Wikimedia Commons 8 The base housed Soviet R-12 Dvina missiles and was hidden until US spies spotted it in 1978 Credit: Wikimedia Commons 'We worked alongside soldiers from different Soviet republics at collective farms, but never discussed military topics,' she told CNN. The base's location in Plokštinė forest was chosen carefully by Soviet planners: the sandy soil was easy to excavate, nearby Plateliai Lake provided water for cooling systems, and the sparse local population meant fewer eyes watching. Visitors today can combine the chilling underground tour with the natural beauty above ground. Žemaitija National Park offers cycling and hiking trails, and Lake Plateliai is a favorite spot for campers and nature lovers. The nearby town of Plateliai is home to an 18th‑century wooden church and even a Mardi Gras museum with its famous carved masks. But deep beneath the birch trees and Baltic pines, the echoes of the Cold War — and the lives lost in its shadow — linger in the silence. 8 The facility was abandoned after Lithuania freed from Soviet rule Credit: Wikimedia Commons
