Time to scrap Tupolev-134 aircraft - Medvedev
MOSCOW. June 23 (Interfax) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered an analysis for removing Tupolev Tu-134 aircraft from regular flights as of 2012.
"I have instructed the ministry to prepare a forced decommissioning of Tu-134s. It is time to do so," Medvedev said on Thursday.
"In the short term, they will analyze the question of replacing these aircraft on regular flights," the Russian president said. The decision was not caused by the air crash in Karelia, he added.
"Speaking of regular flights, it would be right to ensure that they do not fly at all as of next year," he said.
As for charter flights, the situation is different here, he said. Aviation authorities will soon decided on this issue, Medvedev said.
"I hope they will make and report their decision in the very near future," said the head of state.
A Tu-134 belonging to the RusAir airline on a charter flight from Moscow to Petrozavodsk crash-landed outside the Petrozavodsk airport late on June 20. The incident killed 45 people, and seven others were badly injured.
The main theory behind the crash is the pilot's mistake.