Agreement on the construction of a new airport near the Siberian city of Irkutsk has been signed by Russia's Federal Air Transportation Agency

Saturday, January 23, 2021

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An agreement on the construction of a new airport near the Siberian city of Irkutsk has been signed by Russia's Federal Air Transportation Agency and the Irkutsk Region administration, the local governor said Wednesday. Irkutsk, the home airport for popular tourist destination Lake Baikal, has been plagued by air crashes in the past few years. The latest tragedy occurred Sunday, when an A-310 airbus owned by Novosibirsk-based S7, formerly Sibir airline, crashed, killing 124. The plane veered off the runway and burst into flames after hitting a concrete wall and plowing into garages. Earlier reports said that the death toll in the crash rose to 125 people after a man died in a hospital Tuesday, but Deputy Minister of Transportation Boris Korol said Wednesday that this information had not been confirmed. Governor Alexander Tishanin said the airport's draft design would be ready in 2007 and the construction financing will begin in 2008. He added that Moscow would finance the construction of the runway, but the administration would have to find investors to build a terminal and facilities. The new airport will be located about 22 miles to the northwest of Irkutsk in an area that enjoys generally good weather. Media reports have quoted pilots saying Irkutsk airport, about 3,000 miles east of Moscow, is somewhat "non-standard." Its runway is tilted toward the city and at about 10,400 feet has been criticized for being too short, which forces aircrews to make additional maneuvers while taking off and landing. Investigators have suggested this might have caused the latest crash. Earlier accidents in Irkutsk occurred in January 1994, when a Tu-154 aircraft crashed on takeoff, killing 124 people. In December 1997, an A-124 military transport aircraft crashed into a residential area in Irkutsk just seconds after take-off, killing 72 people. In July 2001, a Tu-154 Russian airliner crashed near Irkutsk, claiming the lives of 145 people.

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