Russia navy chief's plane burns in wave of mishaps

MOSCOW, July 10 (Reuters) A airplane carrying Russia's navy chief burst into flames today after overshooting a runway in the Crimea in a series of near misses by Russian aircraft a day after a deadly air crash in Siberia.

Three people were injured when the TU-134 plane carrying Admiral Vladimir Masorin and other admirals caught fire after having to return to land at an airport near Simferopol, in Ukraine, Interfax news agency reported, citing a navy spokesman.

State television showed remains of the burnt out airplane and an unidentified navy official told Interfax that the officials' baggage and documents had been destroyed.

The plane was forced to return to the airport just after take-off because of engine trouble, which the navy spokesman said may have been caused by a collision with a flock of birds. The incident follows the deadly fire which broke out on a Russian airliner after it veered off the runway yesterday and ran into nearby buildings in the Siberian airport of Irkutsk.

The Russian Airbus A-310 run by Sibir airlines failed to stop after it touched down. As many as 128 people were killed.

Russian media said another plane, also an Airbus A-310 and also run by Sibir airlines, was forced to land in the Crimea on Monday morning as it flew from Turkey to Moscow after engine problems. No one was injured.

Yet another plane, this time a Soviet-era TU-154, requested an emergency landing in Irkutsk airport because of problems with one of its three engines.

The plane, which was flying from the Pacific port of Vladivostok to the Urals city Yekaterinburg with at least 139 people on board, landed safely after circling for a couple of hours over Irkutsk to burn out fuel.

Reuters SY DB2107