MOSCOW, Dec. 4 (AP) – Russia is not sending rundown aircraft to Angola, Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov insisted Saturday, suggesting pilot error was to blame for a string of recent Russian plane crashes in the African country.
“If they are operated properly, then there will be no accidents,” Klebanov said, according to the ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies. He said the planes are in good condition.
Scores of people have been killed in crashes of Russian- or Soviet-made Antonov planes operating in Angola in recent years. Angolan officials visited Russia in September to urge authorities to stop exporting rundown aircraft to Angola, where dozens of the planes are used by private companies to charter passengers and cargo.
The pilots, usually private Russian or Ukrainian contractors, are often blamed for crashes. Angolan officials accuse them of flying while drunk or allowing their aircraft to fall into disrepair, and have started submitting them to flying tests.
Klebanov is heading to Angola on Monday, where he said he will sign five agreements on cooperation in the diamond, oil and fishing industries. He said aviation cooperation is not on the agenda.
Russia, the United States and Portugal have been working together to promote implementation of a 1994 peace accord in Angola’s civil war. The United Nations has imposed sanctions on the rebels’ arms, fuel and diamond trade to cut off their sources of revenue.
