BEIJING -- China's burgeoning civil aviation industry has arranged to buy two more Russian planes despite mounting questions about their airworthiness.


China Aviation Supplies Corporation, the government's main importer of aircraft, signed a deal to buy two Yak-42D passenger aircraft from Russia, the official China Daily said Tuesday.


The 120-seat planes will be delivered in October and November, it said.


China in recent years has turned to surplus Soviet-era aircraft to keep pace with soaring demand for passenger flights.


Some Soviet craft have even been imported with their pilots and cabin crew, as China still lacks enough trained personnel.


But state-owned airlines have had problems with China's growing fleet of Russian aircraft, most of which are in shabby condition and, according to some analysts, unsafe.


China's worst civil aviation disaster was the June 6 mid-air explosion of a Soviet-built Tupolev-154, which killed all 160 on board.


The country's airlines have been plagued by crashes, hijackings and safety violations as airport and airline management and the training of pilots, crew and mechanics have failed to keep pace with the industry's growth.