Russian Investigators Say Alcohol Played No Part in Minor Airplane Collision

By The Moscow Times

March 30, 2015

Two Aeroflot planes are seen at Sheremetyevo Airport in the Moscow region. Maxim Stulov / Vedomosti

Investigators have ruled out alcohol as a likely factor in a minor collision that saw two airplanes touch wings while being towed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, news reports said.

A medical examination showed that towing-vehicle drivers were sober when the wings of two Airbus-320 airliners, both operated by Russia's Aeroflot, slammed into each other on the airfield, the Investigative Committee was cited as saying Sunday by the Regnum news site.

The Saturday incident involved an airliner that had landed in Sheremetyevo after a flight from Kaliningrad with 147 passengers and six crew members on board, LifeNews reported. The other aircraft had no passengers on board, the report said, adding that no one was injured in the collision.

Both aircraft sustained damage to their wings, and their scheduled flights were canceled, LifeNews reported.

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