Air conditioning system in airplane serviceable and there was no threat to the safety of passengers and the aircraft, Red Wings said. Earlier, the Investigative Committee opened a case due to the fact that, according to investigators, the air conditioner broke down on the plane.
There was no threat to the safety of passengers and the aircraft due to the switched off auxiliary power unit. This was reported by the airline Red Wings, commenting on the initiated by the Investigative Committee criminal case.
The air conditioning system on this aircraft “was and remains in good condition,” and in flight it “functions due to the operation of the main engines,” the airline said in a statement received by RBC.
The Investigative Committee pointed out that the Antalya-Moscow flight on August 13, on which more than 400 passengers flew, was sent “due to a malfunction of the installation responsible for the air conditioning system inside the aircraft and ensuring engine start without the use of ground equipment.” Investigators believe that “there is a real threat to the safety of life or health of passengers” who have been in the cabin for a long time with a high air temperature.
Red Wings said the APU is “designed to provide engine starting and power to the aircraft without the need for additional ground equipment.” According to them, the principle of operation of this installation “is enshrined in the primary technical documentation of the aircraft manufacturer and airline regulations.
Flight WZ3090 of the Red Wings airline was supposed to fly from Antalya to Moscow on August 13 at 11:35. Nevertheless, the flight was delayed by almost ten hours, and after the passengers were let on board, the aircraft commander reported a malfunction in the air conditioning system, Komsomolskaya Pravda wrote.
Due to stuffiness in the cabin, several people lost consciousness, after which the passengers began to be released back to the airport.
On behalf of the head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin, the investigators opened a criminal case on the provision of unsafe services in the transportation of passengers (part 1 of article 238 of the Criminal Code of Russia, up to two years in prison) by the Red Wings airline.
In addition to this flight, passengers of flights WZ3061 and WZ3062 faced a delay – from Yekaterinburg to Antalya and in the opposite direction. The first was supposed to take off on the evening of August 12, the second – early in the morning of August 13.
Red Wings reported that passengers on delayed flights were provided with food and drink and checked into hotels.
The reason for the delays, Red Wings called the failure of two of the three Boeing 777 aircraft at the disposal of the airline.
