Russian aircrafts, safe or not???

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Hello,
I just wanted to ask for your openion that if the Russian aircrafts are safe or not. I consider the Russians are experts in making a plane attractive from outside but they make a mess out of it from inside. There best plane from looks are the Il-62. But no aircraft is comfortable.

regards
Kabir

Original post

RE: Russian aircrafts, safe or not???

Oh Kabir, you are opening a can of worms!!

In general, most Soviet era aircraft were over engineered and, whilst lacking in refinement, made up for a multitude of sins by being tough and hardy.

What makes an aircraft unsafe can be design, (lack of) servicing/repair, poor airmanship and usage outside of operating limits set down by the manufacturer.

A much more informed person than I (the late lamented John W R Taylor) once told me that in his opinion there were no bad Russian transport aircraft in service, just badly maintained and operated examples.

A moment's thought shows he was right. Every Russian type from the TU104 (with the exception of the TU144) was produced in volume series production (OK the TU114 had a limited production but was a specialised design, too big and too late)and all types have satisfactorily carried millions of passengers safely for many years.

But, you may say, the Aeroflot accident was appalling. Sure, but it was the world's biggest airline, operating across a wider range of conditions on a daily basis than any other and it was hobbled by bureaucracy, no doubt a great deal of "getting back at the system" from employees and a great deal of apathy.

I have to admit to having only flown on the IL18, and that a Tarom example, from Constanta to Istanbul and back in 1973. Compared to the Vanguard and Electra, the only fault I could find was a lack of refinement in the cabin and that was due to the operator. The flights were certainly much less of a vibro massage than the many Vanguard flights I took and the journey back to Constanta at night, around a number of active thunderstorms, was carried out with a great deal of thoughtful airmanship combined with flair.

The problem today is, of course, that many time expired Soviet era airframes keep coming out of the woodwork, kept in the air by shoestring operations with doubtful practices.

If you are going to fly on a Soviet era aircraft, check out the operator. Don't go by the cleanliness of the paint or the odd bit of rust - all aircraft get dirty and a tad rusty - try and find out how many aircraft the airline runs, if it operates to schedule and what its safety record is like. That will tell you everything you need to know.

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RE: Russian aircrafts, safe or not???

Hello,
I personally think Russian Aircraft are very safe it is just they are more costly than the Western aircraft.

It is not often you here of a Russian airliner crashing but many are getting old. I also think Russian airlines should buy Russian Aircraft but unfortunately many new designs fail because people believe they are un safe. They are just as safe as the engineering is very well done.