CLOUDS AND BIRDS DOWNED AIRBUS
by Sergey Mashkin
378
May 05, 2006
Investigation
Recovery work continued yesterday at the Black Sea site of the crash
of the Airbus A-320 belonging to Armavia Airlines. The bodies of
several victims and fragments of the plane were recovered on the
water’s surface. Russian divers are unable to reach the flight
recorders, which are lying on the seabed at a depth of about 600
meters. Transportation Minister Igor Levitin said that Russia may
ask of the assistance of foreign specialists to recover them.
Later yesterday evening, the remains of 20 of the 112 persons who
perished on that flight were returned to Yerevan. Those were the people
whose relatives were able to identify them. The other bodies recovered
from the Black Sea will require identification by DNA testing. Blood
samples have already been taken from relatives for that purpose. It
is assumed that some of the victims will be buried today, which has
been declared a day of mourning in Russia and Armenia.
The causes of the crash remain unknown. Prosecutor’s Office
investigators listening to the recordings of the pilot’s conversations
with the dispatcher at the Adler airport have not reached a
conclusion. They noted that both the pilot and the dispatcher spoke
of the bad weather conditions at the airport.
The Adler dispatchers confirm that information.
“Landing conditions at our airport were much more difficult than at
nearby Anapa and Mineralnye Vody,” one dispatcher said. “The runway
is located in a mountainous area not far from the sea. There were low,
tattered clouds and constant wind off the sea. That is what the pilot
had to land the A-320 in.
Usually pilots circle the airport waiting for the clouds to lighten
up before entering them. Five or six rotations is considered the norm
for us.”
When the plane flew in Georgian territory on its way to Sochi, the
local dispatcher informed the pilot that the clouds at the airport
of destination were lower than 100 meters, which meant that landing
was prohibited. Therefore, Capt. Grigory Grigoryan decided to return
to Yerevan.
The pilot received a new weather forecast some time after turning
around.
“Now they’ve said 150 [m. cloud height] on 1500 [m. visibility]
at 2:00,” the pilot told the dispatcher as he headed back toward
Adler. However, by the time of the flight’s descent, the weather had
turned worse again and the cloud sunk to 100 m. The pilot nonetheless
approached for a landing at Adler at 2:05. Descending to 170-200 m.,
he saw that there was no break in the clouds.
The plane began to ascend again to circle the airport and wait for
a window in the clouds. It takes about eight minutes to make a full
circle around the Adler airport. At 2:15, the plane disappeared from
the screen of the airport’s locator. Specialists think that the crash
occurred a minute or two before that.
Pilots who have landed Airbus A-320 models at Adler say that, at
the moment of the landing and crash, the plane was being pilot by a
person, not the computer. The A-320 is capable of automatic takeoff
and landing, but the Adler airport is not equipped with navigational
equipment to orient the plane’s computer. Therefore the pilot has
to land by a light beacon located beyond the runway. The plane’s
automatic direction finder indicates the direction of the beacon,
but with very low accuracy, so the pilot has to visually his course.
This is done at the moment the plane emerges from the clouds.
Besides the weather and navigational difficulties at the Adler
airport, there was another problem. According to airport personnel,
migrating birds have occupied one of the two runways – the reserve
runway – there. “We didn’t chase them away for fear of bird flu,”
an airport employee said. “All the more since the air traffic is
low now.” It is possible that, at the moment of the A-32o’s landing,
weather conditions were better on the reserve runway.
Russian Transportation Minister Igor Levitin stated yesterday that
large fragments of the airplane with the flight recorders have been
located on the seafloor. “We have no experience raising objects
from that depth in that aquatic medium,” the minister said. “And
there is no equipment for it in the Black Sea region.” He aid that
it was possible that Russia would turn to specialists from other
countries. Representatives of the French and British embassies stated
that their countries were ready to help with the deep-sea work,
should they receive an official request. The Emergencies Ministry
continues to say that it will be able to handle the work itself.

NKR PRESIDENT GAVE CONDOLENCES
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
05 May 2006
On May 3 NKR President Arkady Ghukassian expressed condolences to the
relatives and friends of the passengers of the A-320 plane flying from
Yerevan to Sochi, which crashed on May 3. “I give my condolences to
the relatives and friends of the victims of the crash of the plane,
flying from Yerevan to Sochi.
At this moment of sorrow I wish them all strength and
patience. Stepanakert, 3 May, 2006.” THE MESSAGE OF NA SPEAKER. NKR
Speaker Ashot Ghulian offered condolences to the families of the
crew and passengers of the plane flying from Yerevan to Sochi. “The
breaking news of the plane crash filled us with deep sorrow. I offer
condolences on behalf of the National Assembly and on my behalf to the
families and friends of the crew and passengers who died in the plane
crash. I wish all of us strength of mind and patience.” THE MESSAGE OF
THE GOVERNMENT. The press service of the NKR government informed that
Prime Minister Anoushavan Danielian addressed a condolatory message
on behalf of the government of NKR to the families and friends of the
crew and passengers of A-320, which crashed when flying from Yerevan
to Sochi. “We are shocked by the crash of the Yerevan-Sochi plane,
which caused the death of over one hundred people, giving us deep
sorrow. I express condolences on behalf of the NKR government and on
my behalf to the families of the crew and passengers of the plane,
and mourn for the victims.”

AZERBAIJAN: TRYING TO KEEP WASHINGTON AND TEHRAN HAPPY
Shahin Abbasov and Khadija Ismailova
Eurasianet
5/05/06
Iran is dangling the prospect of greater cooperation on Caspian Sea
energy issues in order to secure Azerbaijan’s neutrality in the ongoing
confrontation with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with his Azerbaijani
counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, in Baku on May 4, ahead of an Economic
Cooperation Organization summit. According to the official IRNA news
agency, Ahmadinejad expressed a desire to increase bilateral energy
cooperation. Such a development could have profound regional economic
and political ramifications, given that Iranian-Azerbaijani tension has
served as a major obstacle to the development of Caspian Sea energy
resources. In 2001 and 2002, Iran resorted to gunboat diplomacy to
force Azerbaijani to halt development of the disputed Araz-Alov-Sharg
offshore oilfields [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Ahmadinejad did not offer specific ideas concerning possible
Azerbaijani-Iranian cooperation, although he expressed an interest in
having Iran serve as an export conduit for Azerbaijani oil and gas,
IRNA reported. The offer seemed clearly designed as an incentive for
Azerbaijan to remain on the sidelines of the international crisis
revolving around Iran’s nuclear ambitions. [For background see the
Eurasia Insight archive]. The US government, which is convinced Iran
intends to develop atomic weapons, has openly contemplated using force
to compel Iran to abandon its nuclear program. Iranian officials
insist the program is designed solely for peaceful purposes. At a
May 5 news conference in Baku, Ahmadinejad reiterated the Iranian
government’s intention to proceed with its nuclear program, while
criticizing the United States. The Azeri-Press Information Agency
quoted the Iranian leader as saying; “If nuclear weapons are bad,
why do they [Americans] have them? If they are good, then why can’t we
[Iranians] possess them?”
The Iranian nuclear issue figured prominently during Aliyev’s visit
to Washington in late April [For background see the Eurasia Insight
archive]. Many political analysts in Baku believe US officials sought
Azerbaijani support for possible efforts to thwart Iran’s nuclear
ambitions. Aliyev publicly ruled out any involvement in such an
anti-Iranian coalition.
During his Baku visit, Ahmadinejad emphasized the benefits of
neutrality. IRNA reported Ahmadinejad as telling Aliyev that “national
resolve on the part of the two nations to develop cooperation would
neutralize the conspiracy of the enemy to sabotage Tehran-Baku
relations.”
Aliyev was generally tight-lipped about his discussions with
Ahmadinejad. The Azerbaijani president’s press service told journalists
only that Aliyev welcomed the Iranian proposal to explore closer
energy ties, while stressing “the importance of historical links”
between Azerbaijan and its southern neighbor. At an ECO-related news
conference, Aliyev indicated that he backed a negotiated solution to
the Iranian nuclear crisis. “All issues that are provoking concern
should be resolved peacefully, in the spirit of talks, to maintain
the fragile stability in our region” Aliyev said.
The Aliyev administration’s position is buttressed by widespread public
opposition among Azerbaijanis to US policy toward Iran. “All recent
surveys conducted in Azerbaijan show the raise of anti-American moods
in Azerbaijani society,” said Arif Yunusov, head of the Conflict
Prevention Department at the Baku-based Institute for Peace and
Democracy.
The ECO summit — bringing together representatives of 10 states
in the Caspian Basin, as well as Central and South Asia — examined
several regional issues, including Caspian Basin energy exports, and
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Aliyev expressed hope that ECO could
help break the existing stalemate in Karabakh peace talks. He also
asserted that Kazakhstani participation in the BTC pipeline was not
needed to fill the export route to capacity. Aliyev said Azerbaijan
would export upwards of 50 million tons of oil via BTC by 2008,
the APA news agency reported.
Editor’s Note: Shain Abbasov and Khadija Ismayilova are freelance
journalists based in Baku

PEOPLE BRING FLOWERS TO ARMENIAN EMBASSY IN MOSCOW
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2006 22:38 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Representatives of state and public organizations
come to the Armenian Embassy in Moscow to make notes in the
condolence book over the loss of 113 people in the A-320 crash,
Embassy’s Spokesman Armen Ghevondyan said. “Many people have come since
morning. These are representatives of state and public organizations,
members of diplomatic missions. Some 200 notes have been made,”
Ghevondyan said. He reminded that the condolence book will be opened
10 a.m.-15 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. In his words, people lay
flowers to the Embassy fence and to the Cross-Stone (khachkar) near
the church situated at the Armenian cemetery in Moscow,” Ghenondyan
said, reported Interfax.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SERVICE FOR CRASH VICTIMS HELD IN CHURCH OF CHRIST THE SAVIOUR
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2006 23:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A service for those killed in the A-320 jet crash
was chanted in the Church of Christ The Saviour on Friday. To remind,
all 113 people aboard the Armavia-owned Airbus-320 were killed in
the crash.
Head of the Novo-Nakhichevan and Russian Dioceses of the Armenian
Apostolic Churches, Bishop Yezras (Nersisyan) informed that May 5
mourning liturgies will be chanted in Armenian Churches throughout
the globe. Presidents Robert Kocharian and Vladimir Putin proclaimed
May 5 was the day of mourning in Armenia and Russia, reported Interfax.

RUSSIAN MES PLANE TAKE-OFF DELAYED FOR UNCERTAIN TERM
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2006 23:49 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As reported by the operation headquarters the
start of Russian MES Il-76 plane with the bodies of the A-320 crash
victims was delayed for an uncertain term. “The delay is conditioned
by the fact that it’s still unclear how many bodies the plane will
convey. The prosecution goes on with the paper work,” the headquarters
representative said. Earlier Il-76 was scheduled to take off at 2
p.m. Moscow time.
The interlocutor remarked that the process of identification by the
relatives is getting harder, reporter Yuga.ru.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WITHDRAWAL OF 62ND RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE TO START MAY 15
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2006 23:51 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The withdrawal of the 62nd Russian military base
located in Akhalkalaki will start May 15. Before this the equipment
will be kept in the autopark near the bay in Tsalka and then will be
transported to the Russian military base in Gyumri.
The process is expected to be completed by August 15.
Presently some 700 military devices and artillery mounts are placed
in the Akhalkalaki base, reported Novosti-Georgia.

CONDOLENCE BOOK OPENED IN BSECO ARMENIAN REPRESENTATION IN ISTANBUL
PanARMENIAN.Net
06.05.2006 00:11 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Condolence Book was opened in the BSECO (Black Sea
Economic Cooperation Organization) Armenian permanent representation
in Istanbul. All who wish can make condoling notes over the crash of
Armavia-owned A-320 jet, Marmara Istanbul based newspaper reported
with a reference to Armenia’s permanent representative in the BSECO
Karen Mirzoyan.

VAHAGN MELIKYAN APPOINTED ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO UAE
PanARMENIAN.Net
06.05.2006 00:36 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ By RA President Robert Kocharian’s decree of May
4, 2006 Arshak Poladyan was removed from the post of the Armenian
Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, reported the RA leader’s press
office. By another decree Vahagn Melikyan will assume the office in
the UAE (residence in Abu Dhabi).

A-320 INFLAMMATION IN BELGIUM CONFIRMED
PanARMENIAN.Net
06.05.2006 01:05 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Head of the General Department of Civil Aviation
of Armenia Artem Movsesyan confirmed the information that early
Ma4 two Armenian jets burnt in a Belgian airport. As it was reported
earlier, May 5 night fire broke out in the airbase of Sabena-Technique
Belgian company. As result 4 A-320 planes including two Armenian ones
burnt. One plane belonged to Armavia national carrier, the other –
to entrepreneur Versand Hakobyan. The Armenian planes were undergoing
servicing in Belgium. Armavia press office said it will be possible
to speak of the damage only after official information on the fire
is received. The plane was insured. “Aibus-320 was a reserve one and
the incident will not tell on the flight,” Armavia representatives
said. To note, Armavia lost its second plane during the recent 3 days,
reported IA Regnum.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress