Some more stuff from today's Moscow Times:
The country's chief transportation inspector on Monday attempted to cancel a news conference at which a group of pilots said there were no safety concern serious enough to justify last week's grounding of the country's Ilyushin 96 jets.
Alexander Neradko, head of the Federal Transportation Inspection Service, unexpectedly appeared at a news conference organized by Il-96 pilots and shut reporters out.
Behind closed doors, Neradko could be heard loudly chastising pilots for challenging the Transportation Ministry's unprecedented decision.
...
Yet Il-96 pilots, representing Aeroflot and Domodedovo airlines, said the safety concern was exaggerated.
"It is a wonderful plane and we, the captains, think there is no need to ground it," Vladimir Salnikov, an Aeroflot pilot, told reporters.
While the component in question was indeed faulty, it did not jeopardize the plane's safety and could be replaced without grounding the entire fleet, he said.
There is talk of three to four months before the Il-96 is flying again.