Alexander Sizov, the lone remaining survivor of the plane crash that wiped out Yaroslavl's elite Lokomotiv hockey team last week, has regained consciousness at a Moscow hospital, RIA-Novosti reported.
Sizov, a flight attendant, is in serious but stable condition at the Sklifosovsky Medical Center. He has burns to 15 percent of his body, a head injury and broken bones, including both femurs.
Investigators have said they want to question Sizov, but hospital director Anzor Khubutia told NTV television that medics would not authorize any interviews until at least the end of this week.
Following the death of Lokomotiv winger Alexander Galimov on Monday, Sizov is now the only person to have survived the Yak-42 crash, which took place near Yaroslavl last Wednesday and claimed 44 lives.
Galimov, 26, who had severe burns, struggled for five days, but doctors said he had no chance of surviving. He was laid to rest in Yaroslavl on Tuesday at a funeral attended by some 10,000 mourners, Interfax said.
Officials have maintained silence on what caused the crash, but Moskovsky Komsomolets said Tuesday that a blatant pilot error, dubbed “a blonde's mistake,” was to blame.
The pilots forgot to switch off the parking brake during takeoff, which prevented the jet from gaining sufficient speed, the daily said, citing an unidentified aviation industry source close to the investigation.
Investigators did not comment on the report, but the newspaper said the Interstate Aviation Committee might release the results of its probe on Wednesday.
Earlier reports said both pilots were highly experienced.
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