2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl air disaster

The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl air disaster occurred at 16:05 MT on Wednesday, 7 September 2011, when a Yak-Service Yakovlev Yak-42, carrying the players and coaching staff of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team, crashed near the Russian city of Yaroslavl. The aircraft ran off the runway before lifting off, failed to gain altitude, struck a tower mast, caught fire and crashed 2 km (1.2 mi) from Tunoshna Airport. Of the 45 on board, 43 died at the scene. One of the two rescued from the wreck, Alexander Galimov, died five days later in hospital, and only the flight engineer Alexander Sizov survived.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, a member of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Russia's top ice hockey league, was on its way to Minsk, Belarus, to start the 2011–12 season. All players from the main roster and four from the youth team were on board the aircraft. Because of the tragedy, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl chose to cancel their participation in the 2011–12 KHL season. The club would instead participate in the 2011–12 season of the Russian Major League (VHL), the second-ranked ice hockey league in Russia after the KHL, starting in December 2011, and would be eligible for the MHL playoffs. The KHL temporarily suspended its season-opening game already in progress and postponed the start of the season for nearly a week.

Investigation of the crash focused on pilot error and technical failures. An investigative committee was set up which examined Yak-Service's records, conditions at the airport, plane wreckage and flight recorder data. Simulations of the plane takeoff were held to compare with recovered flight recorder data. Testing determined that pilot error was the cause as a braking force was found to have been applied by the chief pilot during takeoff. The investigating committee released its report at a press conference on 2 November 2011. According to Alexei Morozov, chief of the investigative commission: "the immediate cause of the Yak-42 plane crash was the plane crew's erroneous actions, namely the pilot stepping on the brake pedals before raising the nose wheel because of the wrong position of the feet on the brake platforms during takeoff."

Accident
Weather conditions at Tunoshna Airport on September 7 were described as good, with a wind from 360° at 11 kilometres per hour (6.8 mph), a visibility of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), with significant stratocumulus clouds at a lower limit of 990 metres (3,250 ft). The temperature was 17.8 °C (64.0 °F). The Yak-Service Yak-42D aircraft entered Runway 05/23 at taxiway 5, 5, 300 metres (980 ft) from the start of the runway. Runway 05/23 is 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) long, leaving 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) for take-off. The aircraft was cleared for take-off. It accelerated to an estimated 230 kilometres per hour (140 mph) but failed to lift off from the runway. The plane ran off past the end of the runway for a distance of 400 metres (1,300 ft) before it lifted off from the ground. From that point, the plane struck a beacon tower mast located about 450 metres (1,480 ft) from the end of the runway. The plane did not reach a flying altitude, never exceeding an estimated 6 metres (20 ft) from the ground.

After it struck the tower mast, the plane veered left and crashed on the riverbank of the Tunoshna River, 200 metres (660 ft) from where it joins the Volga River, losing its tail assembly on impact while the front part of the jet disintegrated. At the impact site, the tail section remained in the water, while the pieces of the fuselage were on dry land. The location of the wreckage was approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the end of the runway.

Witness reports described the plane as "bursting into flames" after hitting the mast. The airplane's direction changed after hitting the mast, described as "rolling to the left" and then the plane impacted the ground. Another witness report described that the plane's engines went silent moments before the crash. Another report indicated that the plane hit some trees before it crashed. Another report indicated that the plane broke into two before impacting. A security surveillance camera mounted on the mast recorded the approach of the airplane at high speed, running off the end of the runway, only metres above the ground, the nose pulling up moments before impacting the mast. Debris from the aircraft was found just past the mast site, continuing from that point to the crash site. The plane's crew did not report any technical problems to the airport controllers.

Aircraft
The aircraft, a Yakovlev Yak-42D, construction number 4520424305017, was first flown in 1993 and was delivered to Orel Air Enterprise. After operating with Bykovo Avia, it went on to operate in the Aero Rent fleet, and was later operated by Yak-Service, which was the operator of the plane when it crashed. Oleg Panteleyev, head of analytics at AviaPort, notes that the Yak-42 was designed with a 36 year service life, and this airframe, based upon the number of hours flown, and the number of takeoffs and landings, still had 60% of its service life remaining. According to Panteleyev, in civil aviation, there is no such thing as an "old aircraft" and that instead it is airworthiness which determines whether the aircraft is suitable to operate. According to Deputy Transport Minister Valery Okulov, one of the three engines on the plane had been replaced a month prior to the crash. The aircraft was due to be taken out of service at the end of 2011 for a scheduled major overhaul.

In 2009, Yak-Service was investigated by the European Commission, following airworthiness and air safety concerns. Russian authorities imposed restrictions on the carrier, and made Yak-Service subject to ramp inspections to international standards. In 2010, Yak-Service had been banned from making flights into European airspace. The Russian transport ministry on 18 May prohibited Yak-Service from flying into Europe. On 11 August 2010, the operating restrictions were removed by Russian authorities. The European Commission, however, was not satisfied that mandatory equipment was present on all Yak-Service planes, and banned two Yakovlev Yak-40 regional jets (registrations RA-87648 and RA-88308) from operating in European airspace.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
At the time of the crash, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl was one of the top ice hockey teams in Russia, originally established in 1959. The team won the Russian Open Championship in 1997, 2002 and 2003, and were finalists in 2008 and 2009, making it to the third round of the playoffs in four straight seasons. Lokomotiv lost in the 2010 KHL Western Conference Finals 4–3 to HC MVD, and lost in the 2011 KHL Western Conference Finals 4–2 to Atlant. Several players were about to make their debut with the team, including former National Hockey League (NHL) players Ruslan Salei and Kārlis Skrastiņš. Also set to make their coaching debuts were former NHL players Igor Korolev and Brad McCrimmon.

Reaction
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who had been on his way to Yaroslavl for the Yaroslavl Global Policy Forum, sent his condolences to the families of those killed in the crash, and visited the crash site along with Governor of Yaroslavl Oblast Sergey Vakhrukov. René Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, called the crash "the darkest day in the history of our sport." Manchester United chief executive David Gill wrote to the Russian side to offer support and sympathy after hearing of the tragedy, which bore unsettling similarities to the Munich air disaster which cost 23 United players, staff and journalists their lives in 1958. Yaroslavl announced a three-day period of mourning from Friday 9 September 2011 to Sunday 11 September 2011.

Upon hearing the news of the accident, KHL officials stopped and postponed the Salavat Yulaev Ufa–Atlant Moscow Oblast game already in progress. The game was suspended in the second period, and KHL president Alexander Medvedev addressed the audience at the game, informing them of the details of the tragedy. Medvedev promised "We will do our best to keep the high-level hockey in Yaroslavl." A minute of silence was held and the audience exited the arena. The two teams left to go to a nearby church. The following day in Minsk, at the arena where Yaroslavl was to play its first game of the season, a requiem mass was held to honor the dead. The KHL resumed its 2011–12 season on 12 September with seven games. All games were preceded with a minute of silence.

On Saturday, 10 September 2011, memorial services for the players were held in countries where the players came from. The biggest services which were held in Arena 2000, the home arena of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, were attended by thousands of mourners as well as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Local police determined the crowd number at Lokomotiv's home arena to be roughly 100,000. Lokomotiv executives met to discuss the team's future. In the discussion, team president Yuri Yakovlev announced that Lokomotiv would not participate in the 2011–12 KHL season. In Sweden, over 10,000 relatives and fans of HV71 attended Kinnarps Arena, HV71's home arena, to mourn Swedish goaltender Stefan Liv who died in the crash. On 12 September 2011, after the death of Alexander Galimov, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl marketing manager Ivjiny Chuev said that it was likely that another memorial, this time specifically for Galimov, would be held on 13 September. The Dallas Stars, the team which Kārlis Skrastiņš played for the previous two seasons, honored their former teammate by placing a decal with Skrastiņš's number (37) on the helmets of their players. Josef Vašíček's former NHL team, the Carolina Hurricanes]], wore a commemorative patch on their jerseys this season. The Detroit Red Wings wore a patch on their 2011-2012 uniforms with the initials of Ruslan Salei, who had played for Detroit during the previous season as well as Brad McCrimmon, who had played for the team and been an assistant coach, and Stefan Liv, who was drafted by Detroit and played for their minor-league team. Furthermore the Anaheim Ducks have embroidered Salei's number (#24) on their jerseys for this season. The St. Louis Blues also held a memorial ceremony for former players Pavol Demitra and Igor Korolev before their Nov. 8 game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blues players will also wear a special '38' patch on their helmets in honour. The St. Louis Blues goaltender, Jaroslav Halak also had his 2011-12 goaltending mask made with a tribute to Demitra on the backplate.

On 11 September, President Medvedev ordered the grounding of all airlines "which are not adequately able to ensure passengers’ safety." A deadline of 15 November was set to put into place "measures be developed to stop Russian air carriers’ activities if they are not able to provide safe flights." Measures to bring aircraft up to international standards were to be sped up and the installation of new radio beacons to the latest COSPAS-SARSAT standard. Fines for violations of the regulations are to be increased. On 21 September 2011, Yak-Service had its operating licence revoked by Rosaviatsiya after an audit of flight operations of the airline and as a result of the crash.

On 28 September, the German Ice Hockey Federation announced that it would retire the #20 jersey of Robert Dietrich in Team Germany. The 13 October 2011 game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, which feature Russian ice hockey players Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, was dedicated to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. The teams wore commemorative Lokomotiv patches. All jerseys were autographed by the players and auctioned to raise funds for the families of those who died in the crash. On 12 March 2012, the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation announced that it would retire the #7 jersey of Kārlis Skrastiņš in Team Latvia. On 24 March 2012, the Dallas Stars held a pre-game ceremony with Skrastins' family and announced a trust fund for Skrastins' children.

Investigation
The Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK), in accordance with Russian legislation, has opened an investigation into the circumstances and causes of the accident. Russian aviation authorities suspended all flights with the aircraft type after the accident pending checks of other existing aircraft of the same type.

The flight recorders were recovered on 8 September 2011, according to Russian Minister of Transport Igor Levitin, and sent to Moscow for examination. The fuel supply used for the plane was seized, and samples taken for analysis to determine if substandard fuel was used. The Investigative Committee commented that pilot error and mechanical malfunction were considered the two most likely causes for the crash. One question to be investigated is why the pilots continued to attempt the take-off, rather than use emergency braking. The pilots were experienced. Captain Andrei Solontsev had 6,900 hours of flight experience, 1,500 on Yak-42s, and first officer Sergei Zhuravlev 15,000 hours, although only 420 on the Yak-42, according to Okulov.

Conflicting opinions were given on the ability of the Yak-42 to take off with fewer than three engines operating. According to a report quoting the Federal Air Transport Agency, the plane can land and fly on two engines, but cannot take off if one engine shuts off. According to Shavkat Umarov, head of the Tatar branch of Rosaviatsiya in Kazan, the Yak-42 can take off using two engines.

According to the Technical Commission of the MAK, preliminary analysis of the flight recorders indicated that the plane's stabilizer was set to 8.7 degrees "nose up" and its wing flaps were in the take-off position of 20 degrees. The engines were functioning until "collision with obstacles." According to Russia's aviation authority, the flight recorders gave no indication of sub-standard fuel. An analysis of the fuel in the fuel tanks at Tunoshna Airport showed that it met requirements for aviation fuel. After the crash, the airport ordered that planes use fuel from elsewhere during the investigation.

The Technical Commission of the MAK released further findings on 12 September 2011. Among the findings: The committee has referred the study of the flight recorders and plane operation data to other research centers. The Technical Commission has established contacts with the investigation authorities of the countries whose citizen were on board: Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, Latvia and Canada.
 * the engines continued working until the crash.
 * the weather was ruled out as a cause of the crash.
 * the crew carried out a check of all flight controls of the aircraft, including the elevator. The flight control surfaces responded as intended.
 * take-off weight was less than the maximum allowable for take-off.
 * the plane had 14 tons of fuel on board, of which 8 tons was from the airport in Yaroslavl.
 * prior to the takeoff, the stabilizer and flaps were set to takeoff position.

On 14 September 2011, a report in the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, quoting a source in the aviation industry, claimed that the parking brake of the plane was on during the take-off, which significantly slowed the plane down and prevented it from accelerating properly. According to this theory, captain Solontsev had turned over steering to the co-pilot before take-off, as he was not feeling well. As it is the commander's duty to release the brake, the co-pilot may not have been aware that it had not been done, or had forgotten to do so. Another newspaper, Lifenews.ru, reported that investigators were investigating the pilots' professional history, and that the pilots did not have sufficient experience on the Yak-42.

On 15 September 2011, a report by RT stated that it was now believed that there is no evidence to show that the parking brake was engaged during the take off roll. RIA Novosti reported that Deputy Minister Okulov and Federal Air Transport Agency head Alexander Neradko both dismissed the theory in discussions with reporters at a press conference on 14 September. The theory was also discounted by Konstantin Malinin, a former test pilot of the Yak-42, who noted that an engaged parking brake would have left skid marks and pieces of rubber on the runway, and there were none found.

Two simulations of the crash are planned to help determine the cause. A 'virtual' simulation will use flight simulators. The data from the crashed Yak-42's flight recorders will be loaded into a simulator, which will then reconstruct the crash. A 'live' simulation will attempt to duplicate conditions of the crash, using a similar Yak-42, which will launch from Zhukovsky Airfield. The Gromov Flight Research Institute will conduct the tests. The Institute previously assisted the IAC in the investigation of the crash in 2010 that killed the president of Poland, Lech Kaczyński.

On 17 September, the MAK released further information about its investigation. The plane started on the runway with approximate usable length of 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) from its starting position. The plane started down the runway with engines at nominal thrust. After six seconds, the engines were revved up to take-off thrust. Despite the increase of engine output, the plane did not increase in speed as expected. The Committee report speculates that this could have been due to some braking force, and the committee will send the remains of the plane's braking systems to a "specialized institution" for a special examination. The plane reached a maximum speed of 230 km/h. It did not lift off the ground until some 400 metres after the end of the runway. It then hit the airport beacon. The plane did not go more than 5-6 metres off the ground. It hit the beacon, deflected to the left and impacted the ground. The flaps and slats were in takeoff position, spoilers retracted, and the stabilizer set in a ten degree position. The elevator controls were still connected.

On 19 September, news channel Rossiya 24 published the last minute of dialog between the flight crew, from the voice recorder: Captain: 74, 76. Flight engineer: 74,76. Captain: Time, headlights. We are taking off, top speed 190. Captain: Three, four, five, nominal [engine thrust]. Flight engineer: Nominal [thrust] on. Flight engineer: Speed is increasing. [Flight] parameters [are] normal. 130, 150, 170, 190, 210. Captain: [Switch to] takeoff [thrust]. Flight engineer: 220, 230. Co-pilot: Maybe [it's] the stabilizer. Captain: Takeoff, takeoff [thrust]! Stabilizer! Co-pilot: What are you doing? Captain: Takeoff [thrust]! Flight engineer: Takeoff [thrust] on. Captain: /cursing/. Co-pilot: Andrey! According to test pilot Anatoly Knishov, in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, top speed 190 represents a decision point where, if failures occur before that speed, the plane must stop. At 210, Solontsev switched the engines to "takeoff mode" from "regular flight mode" or "nominal mode". According to Knishov, a nominal thrust/power mode is used for empty planes, while all loaded planes use a takeoff mode. In his opinion, the switchover from a nominal to takeoff mode was late and unusual, as engine mode for taking off is normally agreed upon before starting a take-off run.

Life News reported on 20 September the opinion of test pilot Magomed Tolboev. According to Tolboev, the cause of the disaster might have been a disagreement between the aircraft commander and the copilot. From examining a 100-metre (330 ft)-long skid mark on the runway, Tolboev suggested that one of them tried to brake, while the other was trying to take off. Tolboev also considered the Yak-42 to be a 'reliable vehicle', although not as advanced in its built and materials as contemporary Western models.

On Wednesday 21 September, Rosaviatsiya formally revoked the operating license of Yak-Service as the result of the ongoing investigation.

On Friday 23 September, Kyiv Post reported that the only survivor of the crash flight engineer Sizov was questioned by the investigative committee on 22 September. According to Sizov, no problems were noted in the preparation for the flight, and the plane had no problems during its previous flight. Sizov also described the distribution of the passengers and luggage on the airplane. Lokomotiv's coaches were in the front cabin of the plane, the players were in the rear cabin, and the luggage was carried in the rear luggage compartment. Kyiv Post also reported that a criminal investigation under Article 263 of the Criminal Code (flight safety violations causing two or more deaths) had been commenced.

On 10 October, the Gromov Institute began its series of test flights. The simulations will apply braking forces at different stages of the takeoff to determine what effects, if any, the forces affected the ability of the plane to reach a take-off angle and speed. The first flight created a baseline takeoff, without any braking force applied.

Simulation testing determined that pilot error was the cause as a braking force was found to have been applied by the chief pilot during takeoff. Using the plane's column and data from the flight recorder, the movement was only possible by pushing down on the brake pedals from the chief pilot's seat to push upwards on the plane's column. The investigating committee found evidence of the braking failure in the braking system.

The committee released its final report on 2 November 2011. The committee found several problems that led to the plane crash. The first was that the Yak-Service airline "did not properly control the quality of mastering the aircraft", finding that the crew did not train long enough on the Yak-42. The second was that the crew "did not calculate the takeoff parameters", changing the takeoff thrust during takeoff. While it was not determined which pilot applied the brakes, it was determined that one applied acceleration at the same time as the other applied braking. The second pilot was found to have a banned drug phenobarbitol in his system.

List of passengers and crew
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the aircraft manifest listed 8 crew members and 37 passengers as being aboard the flight. The only survivors were team player Alexander Galimov and crew member Alexander Sizov. All 43 bodies were recovered from the scene.

According to eyewitnesses, both Galimov and Sizov were severely burned, but both were conscious when rescued at the scene. Both Galimov and Sizov were transported to Moscow for treatment. The two were placed in medically-induced comas to relieve stress, however, Galimov died on 12 September at the Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery. Sizov was moved from intensive care to a ward on 12 September, and his life was considered to be out of danger. On Friday, 28 October 2011, flight engineer and lone survivor of the plane crash, Alexander Sizov, was discharged from the hospital and is expected to go back into aviation, but may not fly again.

Team players

 * Notes
 * A. 2000 Lady Byng Trophy winner
 * B. 2006 Olympic champion and 2006 World champion
 * C. 2010 World champion
 * D. 2005 World champion and 2006 Stanley Cup champion
 * E. Player had dual citizenship (Russian and Ukrainian although dual citizenship is not recognized in Ukraine)
 * Yuri Urychev was injured and suspended at the time and was not originally scheduled to fly to the game, but he volunteered to go to support the team even though he would not be able to play. Forward Maksim Zyuzyakin, 20, was left behind in Yaroslavl.

Team staff

 * Notes
 * A. 1993 World champion and 1994 Stanley Cup champion
 * B. 1989 Stanley Cup champion
 * C. Korolev became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 2000 but had dual Russian and Canadian citizenship.
 * Goalkeeper coach Jorma Valtonen was not on the plane as he stayed behind to work with the junior team.