ARMENIANS SEEK ANSWERS AFTER PLANE DISASTER
By Gayane Mkrtchian in Yerevan

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
May 11 2006

Air traffic controllers under the spotlight after Armenian Black Sea
air tragedy.

Relatives of the 113 passengers and crew who died in last week’s
Armenian air crash are seeking answers to what lay behind the tragedy.

As efforts are continuing to locate the black box of the A-320 aircraft
in the Black Sea, many different versions of what caused the disaster
are already circulating in Armenia.

The release of a transcript of conversations between the pilots and
Georgian traffic control has raised the question of whether Russian
controllers mistakenly advised the plane to try to make a landing in
Adler airport outside the Black Sea port of Sochi.

The Armavia aircraft crashed at around 02.15 local time on May 3. All
of those on board, including six children, died. So far 53 bodies have
been recovered and 47 identified. Armenia held two days of mourning
last week for the dead.

In the search for answers in Armenia, much attention has centred
on the issue of what advice the pilots were given by Georgian and
Russian traffic controllers.

The air-traffic control department of Georgia, in whose airspace the
plane spent most of its journey, has released the transcript of part
of the conversation between its staff and the pilots of the A-320.

It suggests that after the captain of the Armenian plane, Grisha
Grigorian, concerned about bad weather, had turned round and said
he was returning to Yerevan, Russian controllers had advised him to
attempt to land at Adler airport, but to circle it before making a
final approach.

The Armenian and Georgian controllers met on May 4 to discuss what
the Georgians had heard, but the Russians did not take part in the
meeting. Some say the Russian no-show was because of the political
strains between Moscow and Tbilisi.

Prior to the release of the tape, the Russians had denied that they
had advised the plane to turn around and fly on to Sochi.

In the transcript, Georgian controllers and the pilot discuss whether
the plane has enough fuel to return to Yerevan after being told that
there was poor weather in Sochi.

Tea Gadabadze, press secretary of Georgian air-traffic control, told
IWPR by telephone that all the transcripts have been handed over to
the Armenian side. She said that the Georgians had only made public
a small part of the tape “so as not to cause pain”.

Dmitry Adbashian, chairman of Armenia’s National Aviation Society,
said, “[In the Georgian transcripts] you cannot hear the conversation
between our pilots and the Russian controllers. I cannot exclude
the possibility that the Sochi controllers made mistakes but I can’t
confirm it as I have no facts.”

Artyom Movsesian, former head of civil aviation in Armenia, said he
had information that the pilot made the decision to turn back because
of bad weather but was persuaded by the Adler controllers that the
weather was good enough to continue.

“We have a whole series of questions,” said Mikael Bagdasarov, head
of Armavia airlines. “The plane was making a normal landing. The
question arises why was he sent to make a second circuit?”

On May 11 the Intergovernmental Aviation Commission of former Soviet
states, which is investigating the accident, issued a press release
saying that Adler air traffic control had advised the captain of the
plane to abort his landing and make a right turning shortly before
he was due to touch down.

Interviewed by IWPR, Oleg Yermolov, deputy chairman of the committee
rejected allegations that the controllers had acted irresponsibly.

He also said that he could “officially” deny reports in the Armenian
newspaper Aravot that the Russian controllers were rude and swore at
the pilots of the doomed aircraft.

Gayane Davtian, of the Armenian civil aviation authority, said that
a nine-person team had been sent to Sochi and was deciphering the
conversation between the control tower and the pilot.

The Armenian prosecutor’s office is also seeking to question the
Adler airport controller.

Enquiries about the mechanical state of the aircraft and the experience
of the pilot have uncovered little that is suspicious.

Colleagues of the pilot say that he was familiar with emergency
situations and an experienced flyer. Questions have been asked about
whether the A-320 was serviced in Armenia or Belgium – but, so far,
there’s been no suggestion that it was in a dangerous condition.

Movesian said the plane, which was 11 years old, had last undergone
checks in April and that it had been cleared for flight by the ground
staff at Zvarnots airport in Yerevan.

In addition, there are no suggestions that the aircraft ran out
of fuel.

The plane’s black boxes, which are at a depth of more than 400 metres,
could help solve the crash mystery. Adbashian said that the flight
recorders were strong enough to last for a month underwater, but he
feared they would not be found.

On May 8, French experts arrived on the scene with equipment which they
hope will be able to locate and lift the much-anticipated black boxes.

Gayane Mkrtchian is a reporter with in Yerevan. Seda
Muradyan, IWPR Armenia country director, also contributed to this
report.