Dutch source:
http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nl-NL/Article.cms/Algemeen/President_Medvedev_wil_van_Tupolev_Tu-134_s_af
MOSCOW – Russian president Medvedev announced today that soon the Tu-134 will have its flight license revoked. Earlier this week a Rusair Tu-134 crashed 300 KM northeast of Saint Petersburg killing 45 people (thread).
“I have ordered the ministry of transport to a mandatory retirement of the Tu-134” said Medvedev. “As of next year it would be best not to use this type on scheduled airline services.”
The twin engined Tu-134 was build from 1966 to 1984. Out of roughly 850 planes 72 have had crashes in which people died, according to state press agency RIA Novosti. Nowadays around 100 of them are still in use, mainly in Russia and the former Soviet states.
It should be noted that most of the accidents can not be attributed to technical failures. The same goes for the crash earlier this week, data from the CVR and FDR revealed. The pilots mistook the motorway lights for the runway lights.
By: TR1 - 12th July 2011 at 23:10
Good chance to get domestic Superjet/An-148 sales.
By: Arabella-Cox - 12th July 2011 at 12:11
Hasn’t Medvedev been very critical of the domestic offerings in the recent past? A backhander from Boeing seems more of a possibility to me.
By: tenthije - 12th July 2011 at 09:45
Would a backhander from Sukhoi and/or Tupolev not be more likely?
By: cockerhoop - 12th July 2011 at 08:02
maybe he’s getting a back hander from Boeing, and if he bans all the Russian aircraft they will buy Boeings
By: Flyer - 11th July 2011 at 17:48
(Addition to Levsha post):
An-24 crash in Ob river – view from above + video:
By: Levsha - 11th July 2011 at 14:35
And not just Tu-134s! Medvedev now wants to remove the An-24 from service:
Medvedev pushes for An-24 flight ban after fatal ditching
By: MicroBalrog - 9th July 2011 at 16:08
So, given the airplane was in service for 45 years – 1966-2011 – how bad is a service record of 72 fatal accidents out of 850 planes? Are there any aircraft with a comparable service period that we can compare this to?
By: cockerhoop - 24th June 2011 at 09:38
anhedral good word for downward pointing wings
always thought pilots of these planes must be more twitchy when landing as there is less role available to them
or more skilled!!!!!!
By: Banupa - 24th June 2011 at 09:10
They should be replaced with TU-104’s. Now that was an interesting design! When the first one appeared at London Airport, the sight of the anhedral wings and nose “viewing position” was so radical, not to mention the need for security men to guard it while on the ground. I bet there are loads parked up somewhere in the former USSR, just waiting for someone to brush off the snow and fuel them up!
By: cockerhoop - 24th June 2011 at 08:11
time has overtaken these classics, same with the TU-154, they were designed when the margines of safety were less tight than today, from what i have read of the latest crash it was more to do with crew panicing when the runway lights failed, seem a bit of a knee jerk action to ban the aircraft!
was the same not said of the last 154 incident in the apron fire?
By: Arabella-Cox - 24th June 2011 at 05:48
Can’t they decide to keep these birds purely on looks? 🙂
Hear, hear. What a beautiful aircraft and so much more atmospheric than the identikit Airbuses/Boeings of today. The noise and smoke trails coming out of the Kuznetsovs (correct engine type and spelling?) would just be part of the fun.
By: nJayM - 24th June 2011 at 00:44
Yes as ornaments to a bygone era and safely as static displays only
Can’t they decide to keep these birds purely on looks? 🙂
Yes as ornaments to a bygone era and safely as static displays only.
Roll in the Sukhoi era says Pres. Mevedev
By: pauldyson1uk - 23rd June 2011 at 20:20
to be honest ,it was only a matter of time before its certificate of airworthiness was revoked.
It old and noisy.
Sad but a sign of the time’s , hopefully they will not all be turned in to coke cans.
RIP The spider
By: KabirT - 23rd June 2011 at 19:57
Can’t they decide to keep these birds purely on looks? 🙂
By: Levsha - 23rd June 2011 at 18:57
The excessive noise level, from what is an old design, is probably more a driving factor in any future ban, rather than questions over its safety.
Стоит отметить, что основной претензией к Ту-134 традиционно считается не безопасность лайнера, а уровень шума, который он производит. За этим воздушным судном закрепилась слава одного из самых «громких» в мире самолетов, тогда как уровень шума современных лайнеров вдвое меньше, чем у предыдущего поколения самолетов.
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June 23, 2011 at 6:28 pm