Russian pilot with ‘no basic knowledge, skills or experience’ of flying is blamed for 2013 passenger jet crash which killed all 50 people on board including a British mother
- Rustem Salikhov did not have sufficient pilot skills and had made series of errors
- He is blamed with his co-pilot for the crash on the runway at Kazan Airport
- British mother Donna Bull, 53, was among the 44 passengers killed
A Russian pilot with ‘no basic knowledge’ of flying and who received his licence with falsified documents has been blamed for a plane crash in 2013 which killed all 50 people on board.
Investigators said yesterday that two errors caused the deaths of 44 passengers, including a British woman, and six crew when a Boeing 737-500 crashed into the runway at Kazan Airport at 280mph.
The plane from Moscow had been trying to abort its landing when it nose-dived into the runway and burst into flames.
Rustem Salikhov (left) has been blamed for a horror plane crash which killed 50 including British mother Donna Bull, 53 (right)
The aircraft was operated by the now-defunct Tatarstan Airlines, which later had its licence revoked by Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsiya.
Donna Bull, 53, was among those killed. She was ‘a very popular and well-respected member of staff’ at Bellerbys College in Cambridge.
The son of the president of the oil-rich province of Tatarstan and the regional head of the FSB intelligence service were also killed in the horror crash.
The aircraft was operated by the now-defunct Tatarstan Airlines, which later had its licence revoked
Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement on Thursday it had concluded its investigation into the crash and said that pilot error was to blame.
It said the aircraft’s commander, Rustem Salikhov, did not have sufficient piloting skills and had made a series of errors as had his co-pilot Viktor Gutsul.
It said Salikhov had obtained his pilot’s licence using falsified documents.
‘Salikhov, having no basic knowledge, skills and experience as a pilot, began to carry out passenger air flights as a pilot,’ it said.
Tragedy: Newlywed Irek Minnikhanov, 23, the son of the Tatastan regional governor, was named among the dead. He had married wife Antonia, right, just three months ago
The Investigative Committee said it had charged Valery Portnov, then-deputy general director of Tatarstan Airlines who it said had submitted Salikhov’s documents containing false information in 2009.
It said he was being charged with violating air traffic safety rules resulting in the death of two or more people.
The then-regional head of Rosaviatsiya in Tatarstan, Shavkat Umarov, was charged with negligence.
Kazan, which is 800 km (500 miles) east of Moscow, is the capital of the mainly Muslim region of Tatarstan.