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Generators board fire caused Tu-154 plane crash in Surgut

The airliner caught fire as it was taxiing to a runway

MOSCOW, September 28 (Itar-Tass) — The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) said an outbreak of fire on the generators' board located between frames 62-64 in the cabin caused the accident involving a Tu-154 plane at the Surgut airport in January 2011.

Supposedly, "the board bust into flames because of an electric arc, possibly after non-normal asynchronous activation of two GT40PCh6-2S generators for parallel operation, following engine startup and coming to rated idle, which resulted in the flow of cross currents that reached 10 to 12-fold value of the generator's nominal power," the IAC said on its website on Wednesday.

The non-normal asynchronous turning on of generators might have been caused by a confluence of several factors: such as the unsatisfactory technical condition of certain elements of the generators because of long operation without repairs. Secondly, one of the three generators, engulfed by fire, was improperly connected to the grid. Lastly, the situation was exacerbated by "the specifics of the scheme for distribution of AC power of Tu-154B-2, according to the Committee.

Under the standards and recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the IAC probe "does not envision finding somebody's degree of culpability or responsibility. The criminal aspects of the accident are addressed within the framework of a separate criminal case."

The Tu-154 which belonged to Kogalymavia was to have flown to Moscow on January 1, 2011. The airliner caught fire as it was taxiing to a runway. After the evacuation of the passengers and the crew, the aircraft's tanks exploded, spilling fuel in an area of 1,000 square meters.

There were 134 people on board. Three of them died, and another 43 were injured. There were performers from a popular Na-Na group on board the plane.

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