MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. The analysis of information obtained from the black boxes of the Sukhoi Superjet that crash landed at Sheremetyevo Airport will take up to one week, so it is too early to speak about any key leads regarding the accident, as a whole number of factors could have caused it, sources in the aviation industry and law enforcement told TASS.
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"The decoding of the flight recorder started yesterday, and today experts will start working with the voice recorder. The information from both boxes is available for decoding, which will take several days, but the analysis and the comparison of the data will require about a week, after which it will be possible to make some preliminary conclusions," the source said. He added that the Interstate Aviation Committee that is decoding the black boxes would have to publish an interim report on the causes behind the tragedy in a month.
Law enforcement authorities also told TASS that there is no leading cause for the plane’s crash-landing yet. "It is too early to speak about the reasons: a combination of all factors that could have led to the disaster is being looked at," the source said. He explained that the investigators are studying both the crew’s actions and the actions of the flight operations officers and ground services. After circling once, the plane started its landing following the decision it had taken to return to the airport of departure, he said.
A source in the aircraft industry told TASS that the aircraft’s emergency landing, upon which it ignited into flames when it reached the tarmac at Sheremetyevo Airport, had been carried out in a regular mode before the plane touched the runway. "So long as the decision was made to urgently land the plane, there should have been solid reasons for it - it could be a complete system breakdown, low aircraft sensitivity or the complete absence of communication with the airport’s operator. The SSJ-100 is designed so that it can’t drop fuel, but just burns it out in the air," he said. "The traffic in the Sheremetyevo Airport area is quite busy, and remaining in the air without communication at low altitudes could create a risk of planes colliding."
A law enforcement source earlier said that the main reason for the emergency was lightning that struck the plane, causing a system failure. The Interstate Aviation Committee noted that the flight recorder was seriously damaged by thermal action, while the voice recorder was in good condition and that all flight information had been copied and prepared for decoding and analysis.
Crash landing
On May 5, a Sukhoi Superjet 100 en route to Murmansk crash-landed at Sheremetyevo Airport and burst into flames. There were 73 passengers and five crewmembers on board the plane. The tragedy claimed 41 lives.
Based on this fact, a criminal case was launched under Part 3 Section 263 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Violation of safety and operational rules for aircraft which led to the death of two or more people out of negligence"). The major leads of the investigators are the pilots’ incompetence, a technical failure and unfavorable weather conditions.