Flying Lummox
// Plane crash in Lithuania blamed on incompetence
Flight Debriefing
The crash of the Russian Su-27 fighter jet in Lithuania on September 15 was not a provocation from Moscow, according to the commission investigating the incident. The Lithuanian military thinks that it was caused by the non-professionalism and incompetence of the Russian ground services and the poor preparation of the pilot.
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus met with National Defense Minister Gediminas Kirkilas, Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Vladas Tutkus, head of the interagency commission to investigate the crash Brig. Gen. Vitalijus Vaiksnoras yesterday to learn of the results of the investigation of the crash of the Russian jet. Immediately after the meeting, head of the presidential press service Rita Grumadaite reported that the Su-27's presence in Lithuanian airspace and its crash were caused by “a combination of technical, organizational and human factors.” Kirkilas noted that the investigation uncovered no information to support the suggestion that the incident was a provocation against Lithuania or NATO. He stated that the incident points to “the necessity of improving the watch over the airspace of the Baltic countries,” and added that “I don't understand why there is any need to fly over a friendly space like the Baltic Sea with that amount of weaponry. It all has a whiff of the Cold War about it.” The minister said that, after the Prosecutor General of Lithuania make a procedural decision on the case against Valery Troyanov, pilot of the fighter jet, “the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry will present its evaluation to the Russian side.”
Grumadaite's and Kirkilas's statements confirm information that was published at the end of last week by the influential Baltic News Service. Citing informed sources, that information agency reported that “the crash of the Su-27 in Lithuania was conditioned by the lack of professionalism and incompetence of Russian ground services.” Obviously, that information was received by the BNS from a government source close to the investigation of the plane's flight and crash in the Sakiai District of Lithuania.
According to the BNS account, seven craft, an A-50 long-distance radar detection plane, three Su-24MR reconnaissance planes, two Su-27 fighter jets and a MiG-25 interceptor fighter plane, took off from the Lodeinoe Pole Airfield on September 15. Near Latvia, the MiG-25 turned around and returned to the base. The other six planes made a circle over the southeast part of the Baltic Sea, near the Danish Bornholm Island and the Polish coast, where the Danish fleet was training on that day.
According tot hr Lithuanian government, the convoy of Russian planes encountered a Danish F-16 and Finnish F/A-18 in flight. Having completed their mission, five of the planes landed at Chkalov Airport in Kaliningrad Region. The sixth plane, the Su-27, was to land there as well. However, due to the malfunction of the navigation equipment, the pilot strayed off course and into Lithuanian airspace.
BNS cites the investigatory commission as stating that “upon examination of the unsuccessful flight, it can be confirmed that the Baltic Fleet services in Kaliningrad Region, which were supposed to track the flight of the plane and assure its safe landing in an airport in the Kaliningrad Region of the Russian Federation, performed negligently or insufficiently. The land structures were unable to control the situation in the sky. The possibility of mistakes committed by the military flight control service should not be excluded either, that, as the Su-27 approached Kaliningrad Region, dispatchers confused the airplane traces observed on the radar screen and gave the pilot erroneous orders.”
Lithuanian analysts say that pilot Valery Troyanov was unable to orient himself along his route during the flight and did not identify possible systems failures in a timely manner. “The pilot was possibly afraid to admit on the means of communications that he was lost since that could have a negative effect on his career as deputy squadron commander,” the commission's conclusions read. “It can be suggested that the level of preparedness of Valery Troyanov, pilot of the Su-27, was low, the number of his flight hours not great and the consequences of that were negatively felt in the extreme situation.”
The Russian side reacted calmly to the Lithuanian statements. Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky, head of the press service of the Russian Air Force, told Kommersant that “since the official materials of the investigation conducted by the Lithuanian side have not been received by the Russian Air Force, there is nothing to comment on so far.” Head of the Russian observation group of the Lithuanian commission, director of the flight safety service of the Russian Air Force Sergey Bainetov said that “Valery Troyanov was well prepared for the flight.” Bainetov also expressed concern for the health of the pilot, who is under house arrest and has not had a medical examination yet.
Lithuanian Prosecutor General Mindaugas Duda said that he would study the commissions' report and make a decision about the further disposition of Troyanov within a day. A source in the Russian Air Force stated that “Troyanov will likely be returned to his homeland before the end of the week.” The wreckage of his plane is expected to arrive in Kaliningrad Region around the same time.
Vladimir Vodo, Vilnius; Konstantin Lantratov
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 05, 2005
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