MOSCOW. Nov 21 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia sees in excess of 15 aircraft crashes and accidents on an annual basis, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Belousov said on Tuesday.
"The number of air accidents in Russia remains high. The Russian state aviation has seen 16 air accidents in 2006. A total of 11 flight crewmembers and ten passengers were killed, and 11 aircraft and five helicopters were lost," Belousov said at a meeting in Moscow, devoted to flight safety.
According to him, the number of aircraft crashes and people killed in 2006 increased y-o-y 2005.
"An average annual damage, inflicted by aircraft crashes, civil aviation flight personnel deaths, and investigation expenditures, amounts to over 3 billion Russian rubles ($112.5 million)," Belousov said.
He emphasized that most air accidents were caused by the human factor, in particular, poor organization of flights, and negligence of flight safety rules.
Belousov also said that the state of aircraft was among the reasons for such a great number of air accidents. The number of operational aircraft does not exceed 40% of the overall strength. More than 50 aircraft engines leave the inventory every year, Belousov said.
The main objective of the meeting consists in developing proposals, aimed at ensuring flight safety.
The meeting is attended by heads of flight safety bodies of the Russian Defense Ministry, federal bodies, and other departments, operating aircraft. It also sees participation of flight safety experts from CIS member-states, Belousov said.