SOCHI AIRPORT WAS NOT READY TO RECEIVE A-320

An interview with Dmitry Adbashyan, President of the National Aviation Association of the Republic of Armenia.

Would you assess the safety of flights of Armenian planes?

During the whole history of the airbuses, the crash of A-320 of Armavia airline near Sochi on May 3 was the 12th in succession. At present, 2,700 airbuses are exploited world wide. International experts say 12 air crashes is an admissible statistics however cynical it would sound. After all, human lives are in question. The tragedy in the Armenian aviation revealed many problems. However, the investigation in the crash of A-320 has not been finished yet. And it is untimely to draw conclusions on the safety of flights in the country's civil aviation.

How safe is A-320?

It is impossible to build a plane safe by all 100 percent. There is always a probability that a detail or a system may fail to function. Flight safety and economy are always in a definite contrast with each other. Comparing European planes with Soviet ones, the last ones are safer. And it is not my personal opinion. Airbus company specialists in the sphere of flight safety say the safety of airbuses is by 25-30% lower than that of IL-62, IL-86, or TU-154. However, airbuses are highly in demand even in the post-Soviet area as they are more economical. The higher is the safety level of planes, the more fuel they spend. Airbuses are less stable than Soviet planes. To reduce the use of kerosene, the distance between the aerodynamic center and the center of gravity is cut. Hereby, the use of fuel for balancing of the airbus is reduced. If Stalin knew for what the safety is lost, he would shoot the designers of the airbus. However, the time changes and the modern aircraft building explains the loss of safety with the costs of scientific-technical progress.

Was the airport in Sochi ready to receive A-320?

European designers have cut the reserves of the natural stability of the aircraft equipping it with board electronic devices. The aircraft has become more exacting and uncertain to meteorological conditions. To serve such an aircraft, more precision equipment is installed at airports. But, the airport in Sochi had no such equipment. And on that unfortunate day, it was not ready to receive the airbus of Armavia airline.

Was the International Aviation Committee (IAC) aware of the state of Sochi airport? Could it prevent the air crash?

IAC specialists who accused the Armenian pilots of the air crash of A-320 were informed of the specifics of Sochi airport and could prevent the crash. However, IAC is a recommendatory and not a directive body. It is the head of the airport who resolves to receive a plane by an agreement of the Federal Aviation Service of Russia. The Russian aviation leadership was to think if Sochi airport is able to receive an airbus or not. It was likely to be someone's serious omission. Moreover, on that very day, there were only 4 land officers at Sochi airport instead of 10. The end of the runway at Sochi airport is in some 1 km distance from the shore. And the situation behind it is not controlled, especially in case of bad weather at nights. This airport has not even a outer radio beacon like other airports. If it was daytime, the pilot would notice even without special devices that the sea was not calm. The last 5 seconds of the flight remained unclear to the French specialists. In the meantime, everything is clear to me. My version is as follows: the airbus occurred in a strong upward wind and the angle of attack was more than critical. The aerodynamic center of the plane moved to the center of gravity that is why it occurred in an extreme situation, and the airborne instruments failed to function. I propose installing a homer and an automatic meteorological station in the sea in 4 km from the shore in Sochi. It will allow pilots fix the height of the lowest clouds, horizontal visibility, strength of wind, wind shear and direction.

How does IAC certify airports and planes? How important it is?

It is noteworthy that after all, IAC made no claims to the airport in Sochi. While, I do have claims. Now IAC does not certify Armenian planes at all. Airbuses have an international certificate of flight availability. The only thing done by IAC is the recognition of the given certificate. This structure currently plays the role of a mediator or of an unnecessary transitional link from which Armenia can easily refuse.

By Arthur Yernjakyan, ArmInfo, 9 September, 2006