Russia’s Air Register of International Aviation Committee (AMRAK) in late June awarded the Tupolev Tu-334 regional jet AP-25 certification, allowing revenue operation of the RSK MiG/Aviant-built 102-seat jets after five years of intermittent test flying. The approval, which hypothetically parallels FAR Part 25, came just two months after RSK MiG director Vladimir Toryanin threatened to shut down program development for lack of funds. The abrupt AMRAK announcement raised further questions because the program had yet to fly the third prototype–supposedly a prerequisite for full certification.
Former Sukhoi deputy director Toryanin assumed control of MiG from Nikolai Nikitin in a controversial shakeup that raised suspicions that government aerospace agency Rosaviacosmos wanted its own man to control MiG’s growing cash flow from the sale of MiG-29 fighters to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Eritrea and Sudan. The controversy prompted a group of parliamentarians to call for the dismissal of Rosaviacosmos director Yuri Koptev for “acts aimed at destabilizing RSK-MiG.” Last October Sukhoi directors elected Koptev as chairman of the company, fueling rumors that he wanted to absorb MiG into Sukhoi and cancel the Tu-334 in favor of the Sukhoi-led Russian Regional Jet. Whether the parliament’s move prompted a renewed “commitment” to the Tu-334 remains fodder for speculation, but perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, Koptev remains at his government post.
