MOSCOW, October 26 (AVN) - A commission of the RF Defence Ministry, Air Force and Inter-Agency Aviation Commission started its work at the place of the Russian IL-18 Coot plane's wreck, which occurred at 17.22 Moscow time (1322 GMT) Wednesday 20 kilometres to the north-east of Batumi (Adzharia, autonomous part of Georgia), a source in the ministry told the Military News Agency.
The commission is headed by Colonel-General Anatoly Tarasenko, chief of the Armed Forces flying safety service.
It was a postal and freight flight on the route Moscow (Chkalovsky airfield) - Batumi. The plane carried 72 passengers, 11 crew members and 1,700 kilos of cargoes. Before the final approach to the Batumi airport at 17.18 Moscow time (1318 GMT) the crew reported the estimated time of landing and was cleared for descent from the height of 3,000 metres. At 17.22 Moscow time the plane's mark disappeared from the radars' displays. Later it was found out that the plane hit a mountain and exploded. According to preliminary data, all the passengers and crew members were killed by the explosion. There were 54 servicemen (15 senior officers, 13 junior officers, 19 warrants, five sergeants and two privates), 18 women (some of them were also servicemembers) and eight children on board the plane.
According to the Air Force Staff, the IL-18 was piloted by Major Alexander Kotov, the aircraft commander (second-class pilot), and Lieutenant-Colonel Andrei Staroverov, deputy squadron commander of the 8th aviation division - monitor pilot (first-class pilot). Reserve Lieutenant-Colonel Nikolai Grigoruk, former chief of the Central Air Force Command Post, was also on board the plane.