Russian air force findings that a multiple engine failure caused the loss of an Antonov An-124 Ruslan have been sharply rejected by Ukrainian engine manufacturer ZMKB Progress.
The Russian air force commander-in-chief Col Gen Anatoly Kornukov said on 10 February that the cause of the fatal crash on 6 December, 1997, was a multiple engine failure following take-off . Within 24h, however, Fyodor Muravchenko, chief designer at ZMKBProgress, disagreed.
Muravchenko suggests that the cause of the accident was as a result of a fuel problem, and not the failure of the D-18T engine. He has called for an independent investigation by CIS civil aviation authority MAK. The crash investigation commision recommends that the D-18T engine be replaced with the Series III version.
Source: Flight International
