Old Aircraft, Poor Training Threaten Russian Air Safety

Wreckage from the August 22 plane crash near Donetsk, Ukraine (epa) August 30, 2006 -- Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin says old aircraft and poor pilot training are the main threats to Russian air safety.

His published comments came as Russia prepared to bury today the 10 crew members of a passenger plane that crashed, killing all 170 people on board.

The crew members will be buried in St. Petersburg, the city where the plane was bound before it crashed in eastern Ukraine on August 22.

(AFP, ITAR-TASS)