MOSCOW, Russia – Pilot has been found guilty in the plane crash in which an entire professional ice hockey team was killed in September this year (read initial report HERE) , investigators said today after finalizing their report.
 |
| Russian Yak-42 Crash Killed Entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Ice Hockey Team in Sept. 2011 |
Second rated training and poor safety standards were the main causes behind the fatal crash that killed all 44 on board, the Interstate Aviation Committee reported.
The Committee said the Sept. 7 crash of the Yak-42 plane near the city of Yaroslavl in central Russia occurred because one of the pilots unintentionally applied the brakes while the plane was taking off and then being in panic lifted the jet too sharply.
Alexei Morozov, who led the investigation, said the crew still had sufficient time to cancel the takeoff securely at the moment when they knew that it had gone terribly wrong.
Morozov blamed the plane's owner, Yak-Servis, for failing to comply with safety standards and effectively train their flying team.
He added that a health condition of the second pilot and the prohibited medicine he had taken contribute to the tragedy.
The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team had been on its way to Minsk, Belarus, for the opening game of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) season. The plane crashed into the banks of the Volga River, 240 kilometers northeast of Moscow.
