Lokomotiv Yaroslavl’s charter crashed due to pilot error

The experts of the Gromov Flight Research Institute, involved in the investigation of Yak-42D airplane crash with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team on the board, completed the series of flight experiments. They have confirmed entirely the version that the aircraft and its passengers were killed by a mistake of one of the pilots who pushed the breaks during takeoff. Testers say that if that pilot withdrew from the aircraft control at all, the takeoff would have been successful, according to Kommersant.

The flight tests have experimentally proved the hypothesis that the Yak-42 plane and the 45 people on board didn’t perish because of a technical failure or fuel quality issues, but rather because of the retarding torque on its wheels. It was not created by the failed equipment, but rather by the pilot who for some reason put his feet on the pedals during the takeoff.