KRASNOYARSK, September 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Transportation Minister Igor Levitin said Thursday that he did not know when flights of Il-96-300 airliners would resume, as reported defects on the aircraft had not been corrected yet.
On August 22, Alexander Neradko, the head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Transportation, suspended the operation of Il-96-300 aircraft because of problems with the braking system. They were supposed to fixed by September 10.
The State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, asked Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov Friday to help solve this problem.
Three Russian companies - Aeroflot, Domodedovo Airlines (Moscow) and Krasnoyarsk Airlines (Siberia) - fly Il-96-300 planes.
In early August, President Vladimir Putin had to leave an Il-96 and take a reserve plane due to a malfunction when he was leaving Turku, Finland.
