Russia bans airline in ongoing crackdown

Russia’s air transport agency, Rosaviatsia, has stripped a regional airline of its license in the latest crackdown on domestic carriers following a plane crash last month that killed most of a major league ice hockey team. Mordovia Airlines has had its license revoked and freight carrier UTair-Cargo has been banned from using the Antonov An-2 aircraft. Last week, four airlines were banned from flying. Speaking shortly after the September 7 crash, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said national aviation safety must be improved. Some 36 players and officials from the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, as well as seven crewmembers, died when their chartered jet crashed on takeoff near the central city of Yaroslavl. The only team member on the plane to survive the crash died of his injuries several days later.