Russia: Plane in crash improperly de-iced

MOSCOW -- A plane that crashed yesterday in a snowy field in Siberia, killing 31 people, appears to have been improperly de-iced, but there was no indication that negligence caused the crash, Russia's civil aviation chief said.

Investigators said evidence so far suggests a technical failure as the cause.

The twin-engine UTair turboprop crashed shortly after takeoff from Tyumen in western Siberia with 43 people aboard. Twelve were hospitalized in serious condition.

The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted civil aviation chief Alexander Neradko as saying there was evidence "that the treatment of the plane with de-icing agents was not done at the necessary level." But he said there was no basis yet "to connect this with the causes of the crash."

The ATR-72-200 took off at 7:40 a.m. from Tyumen, 1,000 miles east of Moscow, heading for the oil town of Surgut, 400 miles away.

The plane came down about two miles away from the Tyumen airport, breaking into three sections upon impact. Part of it was destroyed by a fire that burned at least six people to death, said Sergei Kiselyov, police chief at the Roshchino airport in Tyumen.

Investigators said witnesses reported smoke coming from the engines as the French/Italian-made plane came down and said the pilots had tried to return to the airport.

The federal Investigative Committee said pilot error or mistakes by traffic controllers had not been ruled out.

The flight recorders have been recovered and sent to Moscow. UTair said the two other ATR-72-200s in its fleet would be temporarily taken out of service for inspection.