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Russian Transport Authorities Demand Grounding of Ilyushin Aircraft Over Braking Problem

Posted on: Tuesday, 23 August 2005, 09:00 CDT

Russian transport authorities demand grounding of Ilyushin aircraft over braking problem

MOSCOW, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Federal Service for Transportation Supervision called for the grounding of all long- range Ilyushin 96-300 passenger aircraft Monday citing problems in their braking systems.

Three Russian airlines asked for jets' airworthiness certificate to be reviewed in late June following "numerous breakdowns of the aircraft's hydraulic braking system," Alexander Neradko, head of the Federal Service for Transportation Supervision, told the ITAR-TASS news agency.

The federal transport watchdog called for the grounding of Ilyushin 96-300 planes as of Monday since no measures had been taken by the producers to eliminate the defect, Neradko said.

A malfunction in the hydraulic braking system may result in the spontaneous braking or unbraking of the retractable landing gear. Consequently, the planes may skid off the runway or the distance it requires in order to land will be increased, Neradko said.

Russia's flag carrier Aeroflot, which operates six Ilyushin 96- 300s, has grounded these planes and is switching to Airbus, Boeing or other planes for some of its long-haul flights.

The Ilyushin 96-300 passenger jet took its maiden flight on Sept. 28, 1988 and received an airworthiness certificate in 1992. Russia currently has 13 such planes in use.

The jet is also used by President Vladimir Putin. Last month, Putin was forced to change planes during a trip to Finland due to problems with his Ilyushin 96-300.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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