MOSCOW. March 4 (Interfax-AVN) - A total of 139 people were killed in 26 air accidents, including 14 air crashes, in Russia in 2008, the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) said in a report.
Last year, CIS countries that are signatories to the agreement on civilian aviation and the use of air space saw 40 air accidents, including 21 air crashes, which claimed the lives of 231 people. In 2007, 92 people died in 45 air accidents, including 18 air crashes.
After Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine have the highest death tolls from air accidents. Sixty-four people died in one air crash in Kyrgyzstan, and 24 people in five air accidents, including three air crashes, in Ukraine.
"The reasons behind all aviation accidents in recent years mainly stem from a systematically recurring combination of errors and violations committed by crews and ground-based personnel," IAC said.
The committee blames faults in some air carriers' crew training programs for such errors and violations.