Russian President Demands Air Safety Improvements

Stephen Pope

Thursday, September 08, 2011 at 07:34 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Following a fatal Yak-42 crash, Russian President Medvedev called for a sharp reduction in the number of domestic airlines.
Medvedev stated Russia may need to purchase foreign aircraft to improve its "shaky" air safety record, giving the government an order to fund this.
These proposed measures aim to elevate Russian aviation safety standards to those of the developed world, addressing the proliferation of small companies operating aging Soviet-era fleets.

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Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday called for a sharp reduction in the number of domestic airlines and said the country may have to resort to buying foreign-built aircraft to improve its shaky air safety record. Medvedev made the comments after visiting the** crash site of a Yak-42** about 150 miles north of Moscow that killed 43 on Wednesday, most of them members of a Russian ice hockey team.

“We must support our own people. If we are unable to sort it out, we must buy foreign aircraft,” Medvedev said on Thursday. “I am giving the government an order and they will have to find the money. It will be a big program.”