Il-114-300 flight tests suspended as inquiry begins into Il-112V crash

United Aircraft has suspended flight-testing of the Ilyushin Il-114-300 following the fatal accident involving a prototype of the military Il-112V. Russian investigators have established a committee to look into the Il-112V crash, outside Moscow on 17 August, although it has yet to reach any preliminary findings. But the Il-114-300 is powered by the Klimov TV7-117ST-01 engine, which is closely related to the TV7-117ST fitted to the twin-engined military transport. Video images of the accident appear to indicate a fire in the Il-112V’s starboard engine before the aircraft banked to the right and rolled into a steep dive. “It is necessary to conduct a thorough investigation of the Il-112V accident, especially an analysis of hard evidence from the flight-data recorder,” says United Aircraft, which is part of the state corporation Rostec. “It is because of this that the flight-test programme for the Il-114, which has a similar powerplant, is temporarily suspended. The accident investigation committee has just commenced its work. It is too early to draw any conclusions at this point.”<br/>