2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash

The 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash occurred on September 7, 2011, at 16:02 local time, when a Yak-Service Yakovlev Yak-42 passenger aircraft, carrying the professional ice hockey team and coaching staff of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), crashed near Yaroslavl, Russia. The team was on its way to Minsk, Belarus to start the 2011–12 KHL season.

All players from the main roster plus four from the youth team were on board the aircraft, which caught fire and crashed shortly after take-off, 2.5 km from Tunoshna Airport. Preliminary reports say that all but two people who were on board are confirmed dead.

Players on board were from Russia, Belarus, Latvia, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine and Sweden. Despite earlier reports it appears defenseman Ruslan Salei was in fact not on the flight as he took and earlier flight to Belarus, seperate from the rest of the team. On September 12, Alexander Galimov, despite continuing therapy using all possible contemporary treatment, passed away.

Aircraft
The aircraft, a Yakovlev Yak-42D, construction number 4520421301017, was first flown by Tatarstan Airlines in 1993, and was later sold to charter airline Yak-Service, who was the operator of the plane when it crashed. The aircraft, whilst being operated by Tatarstan Airlines, had been banned from making flights to the European Community in 2009, following airworthiness and air safety concerns.

Accident
The Yak-Service aircraft struck a tower mast at Tunoshna Airport as it was taking off. The plane then listed to the right and crashed into the Volga River beyond the airport, catching fire.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who had been on his way to Yaroslavl for the Global Policy Forum, sent his condolences to the families of those killed in the crash, and will visit the crash site.

Upon hearing the news, KHL officials stopped and postponed the Salavat Yulaev Ufa–Atlant Moscow Oblast game already in progress.

Investigation
The Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK), in accordance with Russian legislation, have opened an investigation into the circumstances and causes of the accident.

People on board
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the aircraft manifest saw 8 crew members and 37 passengers being listed as being present on the flight, including:

Hockey players killed
Twenty-six players of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team were killed:

Team staff

 * Head coach Brad McCrimmon, 52 (Canada) (1989 Stanley Cup champion)
 * Assistant coach Alexander Karpovtsev, 41 (Russia) (1994 Stanley Cup champion)
 * Assistant coach Igor Korolev, 41 (Russia)
 * Yuri Bakhvalov, video operator
 * Aleksandr Belyayev, equipment manager/massage therapist
 * Nikolai Krivonosov, fitness coach
 * Yevgeni Kunnov, massage therapist
 * Vyacheslav Kuznetsov, massage therapist
 * Vladimir Piskunov, administrator
 * Yevgeni Sidorov, coach-analyst
 * Andrei Zimin, team doctor

Flight crew

 * Andrei Solomentsev — pilot
 * Igor Zhivelov — copilot
 * Nadezhda Maksumova — flight attendant
 * Vladimir Matyushin — flight engineer
 * Elena Sarmatova — flight attendant
 * Elena Shavina — flight attendant
 * Sergey Zhuravlev — mechanic
 * Alexander Sizov — flight engineer – survived