Five fatalities have been confirmed after a Ukrainian-registered Antonov An-12 transport crashed in the vicinity of Lviv while conducting a freight flight between Spain and Turkey. The aircraft (UR-CAH) had been operating from Vigo to Istanbul with a scheduled technical stop in Lviv. But the An-12 came down in rough ground, in a district known as Sokilnyky which lies about 2.5km from the approach threshold to runway 31. The accident occurred at 06:42 on 4 October, says the Ukrainian infrastructure ministry. Ukraine's state emergencies service says the aircraft came to rest about 1,500m from the runway, having been lost from radar contact during its approach to Lviv international airport. It was transporting automotive parts at the time, and was carrying eight personnel – seven crew members and an individual accompanying the cargo. The aircraft suffered substantial structural damage but there was no fire, says the emergencies service. It says that one of the crew members disclosed that the An-12 made an emergency landing. Five fatalities are confirmed, it adds, with three other occupants injured. Some 70 personnel have been working at the crash site. Cirium fleets data indicates the aircraft was operated by Ukraine Air Alliance, and that it was delivered originally to the Soviet air force in 1968. Ukraine Air Alliance says it acquired the aircraft in February 2012. Investigators have opened an inquiry into the accident, says the infrastructure ministry.

Source: FlightGlobal

Criminal investigators have charged the captain of an Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 in connection with the fatal landing accident at Moscow Sheremetyevo airport earlier this year. The Murmansk-bound aircraft returned to Sheremetyevo after a lightning strike but bounced heavily during the landing, igniting spilled fuel when the landing-gear collapsed. Forty-one of the 78 occupants did not survive the accident. The captain had taken manual control of the Superjet after the lightning strike but the investigation has highlighted heavy-handed and abrupt inputs to the side-stick during the approach and touchdown. Russia's federal Investigative Committee says that the aircraft made a rough landing, adding that the captain's actions to control the jet were "in violation of established rules" and led to the airframe damage and the outbreak of fire. It states that he is being charged with a crime relating to breaches of air transport safety rules which, as a result of negligence, resulted in two or more fatalities. Ten of those on board received injuries of varying severity, says the committee, which adds that the criminal investigation is continuing.

Source: FlightGlobal

Russian federal investigators probing alleged embezzlement of Aeroflot funds have charged four individuals, including a member of the flag-carrier's management board who formerly served with the country's prosecutor general. Aeroflot deputy general director for legal and property matters Vladimir Alexandrov is accused of participating in a fraud involving theft of Rb250 million ($3.8 million) during 2015-16. The federal Investigative Committee alleges that he conspired with a former director of the airline's legal department to arrange several contracts for provision of legal services, to be carried out by two lawyers. It accuses the group of carrying out the work internally, through legal department employees, but then transferring at least Rb250 million over 2016-18 to cover false work claims linked to the lawyers. These funds were then distributed among the accused. Aeroflot lists Alexandrov as having joint the airline in 2013, and states that he had held senior positions not only with the Investigative Committee but also the Russian prosecutor general's office. He was appointed to head the airline's legal and property matters division in mid-2016.

Source: FlightGlobal