MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Navy Commander Vladimir Kuroyedov and Russian Naval Aviation Commandeer Lieutenant General Ivan Fedin will fly to the Northern Fleet on Saturday to conduct an inspection of the fleet's aviation and determine the cause of the recent AN-26 Curl plane crash, sources in the Navy Staff told Interfax-Military News Agency on Wednesday.
The preliminary conclusion made by the state probe into the accident is that the AN-26 crash was caused by errors made by the crew and flight operators.
The AN-26 plane, which belonged to the Northern Fleet aviation, crashed on February 21 while attempting to land near the Katunino garrison, in the Arkhangelsk region. Seventeen people were killed and three sustained injuries of various degree as a result of this crash.
The plane commander did not report any technical malfunctions before the accident. His last words to the air traffic controllers before the AN-26 hit the ground were, according to a source in Northern Fleet headquarters: "I see the ground. I'm landing."
Rescue workers said they had the impression that the plane hit treetops and nose-dived into a field at the beginning of the Katunino airfield runway.