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Drunken Pilot Blamed in 2008 Perm Air Disaster

A drunken pilot was to blame for the 2008 crash of an Aeroflot-Nord jet in Perm, which killed all 88 people on board, the Investigative Committee said Monday.

Captain Rodion Medvedev lost control of the Boeing 737 shortly before landing, causing it to rotate to the left, quickly lose altitude and crash into the ground, the committee said in its final report, released on its web site.

The pilot was "in unstable mental condition caused by alcohol," it said, citing a medical examination that found light levels of intoxication. The report did not repeat earlier claims by investigators who said the pilot's poor training was the reason for the crash.

The case had been closed because Medvedev was killed in the crash, the statement said.

Aeroflot-Nord, a subsidiary of state-run Aeroflot, Russia's biggest airline, had operated the plane for just seven weeks.

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