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MOSCOW (AP) #8212;A Russian pilot inadvertently put the wheel brakes on duringtakeoff, causing a crash that killed 44 people including a professional icehockey team, investigators said Wednesday, citing lax oversight and insufficientcrew training as key reasons behind the error.The Interstate Aviation Committee said the Sept. 7 crash of the Yak-42 planenear Yaroslavl in central Russia occurred be gaelic football cause one of the two pilotsaccidentally activated the brakes and then yanked a control wheel to his chest,pulling the plane up too sharply in a desperate attempt to take off.It was one of the worst aviation disasters ever in sports, shocking Russiaand the world of hockey, as the dead included 36 players, coaches and staff ofthe Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team. The only player who survived the cras gaelic football hlater died of burns. A flight engineer was the sole survivor. Alexei Morozov, leader of the investigation, said the crew should haveaborted the takeoff the moment they realized it was going wrong. He said onepossible reason the pilot obstinately still tried to take off was a fear ofreprisals from his employer.Industry experts say when Russian crews abort takeoffs, make second runs ordivert t gaelic football heir planes to other airports they can risk losing their bonuses or faceother sanctions as carriers focus on cutting costs. #8220;Many pilots say that those who cause delays in flight schedules #8230; runinto various problems at many carriers, #8221; Morozov told a news conference. #8220;Company management doesn #8217;t like it. #8221;Morozov blamed the plane #8217;s owner, Yak-Service, for faili gaelic football ng to observe safetystandards and adequately train the crew. The company was closed in September byRussia #8217;s federal aviation authority following a check that found severeviolations. #8220;The company practically lacked a proper system of flight oversight andcontrols over air safety, #8221; Morozov said.Morozov said both pilots had flown another type of plane with a slightlydifferent cockpit gaelic football layout and apparently had never learned the correct positionfor their feet on takeoff. He said in the Yak-42, like most other Russian andWestern planes now, a pilot steers the aircraft by pressing the lower part ofpedals and activates the brakes by pressing their upper part.But instead of putting their heels on the cockpit floor as regulationsrequire, one or both of the pilots left their feet rest gaelic football ing on the pedals in linewith old habits, inadvertently activating the brakes and slowing the plane downon takeoff.At first they didn #8217;t notice the brakes were on, and then they made the fatalmistake of failing to halt the takeoff, he said. #8220;A properly trained pilot would have immediately aborted the takeoff whenhe saw the nose failing to lift, #8221; said Ruben Yesayan, a highly decorat gaelic football ed testpilot who took part in the probe. #8220;The plane would simply have rolled past therunway and everyone would have been safe. #8221;Morozov said the second pilot was taking phenobarbital #8212;a sedative used tocontrol seizures that is prohibited for pilots #8212;and that also contributed tothe disaster. He said the pilot suffered from polyneuropathy #8212;a neurologicaldisorder that could gaelic football affect the feet and hands and cause weakness and loss ofsensation. It had passed unnoticed during an official medical certification, butinvestigators found that the pilot had consulted private doctors about it.A clash of egos could also have been a factor, Morozov said, noting that thesecond pilot felt like the real leader.The plane was already past half of the 3,000-meter (9,900-foot) runway when gaelic football the crew tried and failed to lift it. Both pilots then threw their body weighton the steering wheels desperately trying to lift the plane and managed to applyeven more pressure on the brakes while doing so.The jet sped past the runway and ran nearly 450 meters (1,485 feet) onto thegrass before finally taking off. It lifted up too sharply and immediately bankedon its wing, crashing on the side of t gaelic football he Volga River, 150 miles (240 kilometers)northeast of Moscow.The team had been heading to Minsk, Belarus, to play its opening game of theKontinental Hockey League season.Among the dead were Lokomotiv coach and National Hockey League veteran BradMcCrimmon, a Canadian; assistant coach Alexander Karpovtsev, one of the firstRussians to have his name etched on the Stanley Cup as a member of the New Yo gaelic football rkRangers; and Pavol Demitra(notes), who played for the St. Louis Blues and the VancouverCanucks and was the Slovakian national team captain.Other standouts killed were Czech players Josef Vasicek, Karel Rachunek andJan Marek, Swedish goalie Stefan Liv, Latvian defenseman Karlis Skrastins(notes) anddefenseman Ruslan Salei(notes) of Belarus.The crash raised new concerns about Russia #8217;s aviatio gaelic football n safety and promptedthe president to suggest replacing all aging Soviet-era aircraft withWestern-made planes.But industry experts say recent Russian air disasters have been rooted notjust in the age of the planes, but in a combination of other factors, includinginsufficient crew training, crumbling airports, lax government control andwidespread neglect of safety in the pursuit of profits. Play gaelic football Fantasy Hockey, now with Pro Leagues! And follow Yahoo! Sports' NHL coverage on Twitter. Updated 9 hours, 30 minutes ago gaelic football
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