Russian airline UTair is to maintain flights using its ATR 72-500 aircraft, the airline said on Monday, after the national transport watchdog Rostransnadzor issued a notice the same day advising the company against operating all ATR 72 variants.
“Operations by ATR 72-500 aircraft in our timetable have not been affected,” the airline said. “Having carefully carried out the recommendations in the Rostranznadzor directive of April 6, UTair is continuing flights with ATR 72 aircraft built in 2011-12 of all variants,” the airline said on Monday.
The agency clarified later on Monday that the notice it had been sent was advisory in nature.
UTAir said: “A message sent to UTair and UTair Technic contained a notice from April 6 with a recommendation to stop flights by ATR 72 aircraft and introduce limits on line maintenance activity by UTair Technic at Vnukovo airport until urgent measures are taken to reduce the risk of using ATR 72 aircraft, which were urgently examined by both companies’ management,” UTair said.
Last week, the airline said it would unilaterally cease operating its two remaining ATR 72-200 airliners after least 31 people were killed when an ATR 72 passenger plane crashed whilst trying to make an emergency landing shortly after take-off near Tyumen last Monday. All the crew members were among the dead, but twelve survivors were taken to hospital, all in a serious condition.
Investigators said soon after the incident that failure to deice the aircraft was most probably a factor in the disaster.
UTair, Russia's largest civil helicopter operator, has a fleet of over 200 aircraft, including two ATR72-200s and 15 ATR 72-500s turboprops.
The aviation safety watchdog also suspended the firm's subsidiary ground service company UTair-Technic, which carries out technical maintenance and repair work at Moscow's Vnukovo airport.
Rostransnadzor also grounded Bell 407 helicopters operated by the Ak Bars company after one of its pilots died in a Bell 407 crash in Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan on Friday.
