Int'l forum on servicing of air eqt to open in Moscow Tue.

MOSCOW, March 2 (Itar-Tass) - About 350 representatives from Russia
and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Europe, the Americas, the Middle East will take part in the 5th International conference and exhibition on the theme of "The Technical Servicing and Repairs of Air Equipment in Russia and the CIS", opening here on Tuesday.

Alexei Komarov, chairman of the organizing committee of the forum, has
told Itar-Tass, "This will be the most widely representative discussion of
this subject by domestic and foreign experts. Not only the financial
position of domestic air carriers but also the chief air transport
indicator -- the safety of flights -- depend on the condition of the air
vehicles".
Komarov said that particular importance to the event is added by the
fact that "the fleet of foreign airliners rapidly grows in Russia". Thus,
more than 300 commercial airliners are currently operated by 25 air
companies.
"Many air carriers, upon mastering the fundamentals of the operation
of foreign airliners, now look for ways to reduce expenditure on technical
servicing and repairs, which is particularly topical in the light of the
persisting conditions of recession. It becomes increasingly costly for air
companies to maintain the airworthiness of the antiquated Soviet-made air
vehicles," Komarov emphasized.
The conference is to be held in a three-session format. The first
session will deal with a discussion of matters concerning the changed
structure of the fleet of the air companies of Russia and the CIS and the
resultant peculiarities of the maintenance of the air fleet in a proper
condition.
Representatives of the Federal Air Transport Agency, the State Civil
Aviation Research Institute, air companies, and foreign technology
specialists are scheduled to make reports on the matter.
At the second session, participants are to focus on the problem of
supply of air vehicles and foreign-made components. Experts are to discuss
customs regulation, legal regulatory framework for support, and, as a
whole, the technology policy of the market of air supplies.
The third session is to lay emphasis on the development of domestic
servicing and repair enterprises, the use of the so-called saving
technologies. In particular, it is planned to discuss technical support
for the Superjet-100 airliners from the very beginning of their operation,
the peculiarities of the operation of the airbus liners in the winter
period, the European Aviation Safety Agency requirements concerning the
personnel of the repair organizations.
The forum is to come to a close on March 3.

.Earthquake hits Kyrgyzstan, no word about any victims.

BISHKEK, March 2 (Itar-Tass) - An earthquake measuring six points on
the 12-point MSK-64 Scale rocked the Naryn Region of the Republic of
Kyrgyzstan at 07:55, local time, on Tuesday, an official at the republican
institute of seismology has told Itar-Tass.
According to Institute experts, the epicenter of the earth jolts was
in Cholpon Village, 22 km south of the district center Kochkorka and
approximately 100 km east of Bishkek. The magnitude of the earthquake was
6.3 points at the epicenter of the earthquake, four points in the area of
the city of Kant, and 3.5-4 points in the republic's capital.
An official in the press service of the republican Ministry for
Emergencies has told Itar-Tass that, according to preliminary data, there
was no loss of life or damage as a result of the earth jolts. However,
information on the aftermath of the earthquake is