Sibir Jet Veers Off Runway, 122 Dead

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Sibir Jet Veers Off Runway, 122 Dead
By Conor Humphries STAFF WRITER
Moscow Times
10 Jul 2006

An Airbus jetliner slid off a rainsoaked runway, crashed into a concrete barrier and burst into flames at the Irkutsk airport early Sunday, killing at least 122 of the 204 people on board.

A brake failure on landing appears to be the most likely cause of the crash.

S7 Flight 778 from Moscow was carrying 14 children under the age of 12 and 12 foreigners, said the airline, formerly called Sibir.

Footage broadcast on NTV television showed the tail of the A310 visible through billowing black smoke as flames engulfed the rest of the plane after it crashed into one- story brick garages at the airport’s perimeter.

“It was terrible, really terrible because people were shouting, people were on fire,” survivor Margarita Svetlova told Channel One television. “Someone shouted that it was all going to blow up. So I ran out of fear. I ran out.”

Ten passengers were able to escape through the rear door of the plane... read more...