YEKATERINBURG, May 6 (Itar-Tass) - Investigators have several leads in the case over the crash of an An-2 plane in the Sverdlovsk region. They are technical fault, piloting error and adverse weather conditions, a representative of the regional investigation department on the transport Irina Sarkisyan told Itar-Tass on Monday.
There are no priority leads. "The investigators are working on all the possible crash versions; the necessary investigative events are being carried at the scene; the investigation is continuing," Sarkisyan said.
Regional police spokesman Valery Gorelykh earlier told Tass that under one of the versions, the plane fell down when landing. Its wing hit a tree and the plane caught fire. "The plane damaged two trees; the crowns of other trees were intact after the plane crash which made airborne detection impossible," Gorelykh added.
Fragments of the An-2 plane were found in the in the Katasminskoye bog last weekend, some eight kilometers from the town of Serov, where the ill-fated An-2 took off from on June 11, 2012. Pilot Khatip Kashapov took off without permission from the airfield in the town of Serov. The plane belonged to the Avia Zov Company.
The remains of 13 persons were found at the scene.
Aircraft and search parties combed terrain in the Perm Territory, the Chelyabinsk, Tyumen, Kurgan and Svedlovsk regions and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area. The search operation was officially halted on November 13, 2012.
Investigation over the “violation of flight safety rules and operation of an aircraft inflicting the death of two or more persons through negligence” has been resumed.
On Monday, forensic experts began tests to ascertain the identities of the crash victims and the cause of their death.