Tupolev TU-154

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-85617

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

86A736

YOM:

1986

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

Circumstances:

For unknown reasons, the TU-154M landed hard at Norislk-Akylev Airport and was considered as damaged beyond repair due to severe fuselage deformation. There were no injuries.

Ground fire of a Tupolev TU-154B-2 at Veshchevo AFB: 9 killed

Date & Time: Mar 8, 1988 at 1910 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-85413

Flight Phase:

Parking

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Irkutsk - Kurgan - Leningrad

MSN:

80A413

YOM:

1980

Flight number:

SU3739

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

11411

Aircraft flight cycles:

4669

Circumstances:

At 1453LT, while in cruising altitude over Vologda on a flight from Irkutsk to Leningrad via Kurgan, a group of 11 hijackers (all from the same Oveshkin Family) informed the cabin crew that a bomb was on board and requested to be flown to London. The captain explained that he did not have sufficient fuel to fly to UK and proposed to make a stopover in Finland. In accordance with the authorities and his corporate, the captain eventually landed at the Veshchevo Airbase located 105 km northwest of Leningrad, near the Finnish border. After landing, hijackers realized they were not in Finland and open fire in the cabin. As a door could be open by a crew member, police officers entered the cabin and open fire as well. When the hijackers realized their hijacking attempt failed, two of them committed suicide. The aircraft was partially destroyed by fire and nine people were killed, five hijackers, one stewardess and three passengers. 19 other people were injured in the event.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the group of 11 hijackers were all from the same family Oveshkin, members of the jazz band christened 'Seven Simeons'. After several concerts in Japan, they were making a tour in the Soviet Union but wanted to escape to Europe. Investigations determined that one of the band bag containing a double bass was too big to be brought in the cabin but the passengers convinced the personnel at the airport to have it in the cabin. Visual and tactile controls performed by the ground security personnel was inadequate, so they failed to realize that few hand grenades and two sawed shotguns were placed in the double bottom of the double bass bag.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-154B-1 in Krasnovodsk: 11 killed

Date & Time: Jan 18, 1988 at 0519 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-85254

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Balkan Province (Balkan welaýaty)

Schedule:

Moscow – Krasnovodsk – Ashgabat

MSN:

78A254

YOM:

1978

Flight number:

SU699

Location:

Krasnovodsk

Country:

Turkmenistan

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

137

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

15859

Aircraft flight cycles:

8082

Circumstances:

Following an uneventful flight from Moscow-Domodedovo, the crew started a night approach to Krasnovodsk Airport. The visibility was reduced due to the night combined with clouds down to 400 meters. The copilot was the pilot-in-command and he completed the approach at a speed of 270 km/h with flaps down at 28°. During the last segment, flaps were downed to an angle of 45° when the rate of descent increased to 10 meters per second. At a height of 30 meters, the copilot did not have visual contact with the runway but the captain decided to continue the approach. At an excessive speed of 275 km/h, the aircraft touched down 3 meters to the left of the runway centerline. It bounced, rolled for few hundred meters and came to rest on the main runway, broken in two. Eleven passengers were killed, 120 people were injured while 15 other escaped uninjured.

Probable cause:

Wrong approach configuration on part of the pilot-in-command (copilot) who continued the approach after passing the minimum descent altitude without any visual contact with the runway.
The following contributing factors were reported:
- Excessive approach speed and rate of descent,
- Poor approach planning and landing preparation,
- Lack of crew coordination,
- Lack of supervision on part of the captain,
- The crew failed to initiate a go-around procedure,
- Poor visibility due to the night and low clouds.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-154B-2 in Moscow

Date & Time: May 21, 1986 at 1521 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-85327

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Abakan - Chelyabinsk - Moscow

MSN:

79A327

YOM:

1979

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

175

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

11922

Aircraft flight cycles:

4687

Circumstances:

Following an uneventful flight from Chelyabinsk to Moscow in relative good weather conditions, the crew started the descent to Moscow-Domodedovo when the weather conditions worsened. While descending to an altitude of 3,600 meters, the aircraft entered an area of heavy rain falls and icing (a cold front was passing over Moscow at that time). The Pitot tubes became obstructed, modifying some instruments settings. The airspeed indicator fell to zero and the crew thought the aircraft was near stall conditions so he initiated an emergency descent with a rate of descent of 100 meters per second and a speed of 813 km/h. The aircraft encountered positive acceleration of 3,2 g and suffered structural damages. The crew was able to divert to Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport where an emergency landing was completed. All 185 occupants evacuated safely and the aircraft was later declared as damaged beyond repair due to irreparable damages to the main structure (fuselage).

Probable cause:

It was determined that the crew failed to prepare the light properly at Chelyabinsk Airport and failed to follow the pre-takeoff checklist. Doing so, the crew forgot to activate the Pitot heating system. While descending to Moscow, the Pitot tube became obstructed by ice because they were not heated.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-154B-2 near Ushquduq: 200 killed

Date & Time: Jul 10, 1985 at 2346 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-85311

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Navoiy Province (Navoiy viloyati)

Survivors:

Site:

Desert

Schedule:

Karshi – Ufa – Leningrad

MSN:

78A311

YOM:

1978

Flight number:

SU5143

Location:

Ushquduq

Country:

Uzbekistan

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

191

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

200

Aircraft flight hours:

12443

Aircraft flight cycles:

5660

Circumstances:

After takeoff from Karsi Airport, the aircraft climbed at an insufficient speed of 470 km/h with a max speed of 515 km/h. The cruising altitude of 11,600 meters was reached after 40 minutes and 20 seconds. The speed dropped to 400 km/h then the aircraft reached a critical angle of attack (+20°) when vibrations started. The crew misinterpreted these vibrations and failed to judge properly the situation in reducing the engine power to idle. The speed dropped to 290 km/h when the aircraft stalled and entered a spin. The aircraft eventually went into a flat attitude and crashed in an isolated and desert area located in the region of Ushquduq. The aircraft was totally destroyed upon impact and all 200 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the climb configuration was incorrect and the crew led the aircraft adopting a critical angle of attack once the cruising altitude was reached. This situation affected the air flow into the three engines and the aircraft went into inappropriate flight conditions. The crew misinterpreted the situation and failed to identify the wrong flight configuration until the aircraft entered stall condition.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-154B-2 in Krasnoyarsk: 110 killed

Date & Time: Dec 23, 1984 at 1815 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-85338

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Krasnoarsk - Irkutsk

MSN:

79A338

YOM:

1979

Flight number:

SU3519

Location:

Krasnoyarsk-Sheremshanka

Krasnoyarsk Krai

Country:

Russia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

104

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

110

Aircraft flight hours:

8955

Aircraft flight cycles:

3581

Circumstances:

After takeoff from Krasnoyarsk-Cheremshanka Airport, while climbing to an altitude of 2,040 meters at a speed of 480 km/h, the right engine (engine n°3) suffered an uncontained failure and caught fire. The crew declared an emergency and was cleared to return for an emergency landing. On final approach, the aircraft banked right then nosed down and crashed at a speed of 425 km/h 3,200 meters short of runway threshold and disintegrated on impact, some 11 seconds prior to landing. A passenger was seriously injured while 110 other occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the failure of the right engine was the consequence of a fatigue failure of the first stage low pressure compressor disk due to metallurgical and manufacture defect. A fire erupted in the right engine and quickly spread to the right wing and the engine n°2 because the crew forgot to close the fuel valve.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-154B-1 in Omsk: 178 killed

Date & Time: Oct 11, 1984 at 0539 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-85243

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Krasnodar – Omsk – Novosibirsk

MSN:

77A243

YOM:

1977

Flight number:

SU3352

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

170

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

178

Circumstances:

Following an uneventful flight from Krasnodar, the crew started the approach to Omsk Airport in a reduced visibility due to the night and rain falls. The aircraft landed at a speed of 270 km/h and about one second later, the captain noticed the presence of vehicles on the runway. He initiated a turn to the right when the left wing struck the vehicles. Upon impact, all three vehicles were destroyed and the four people on board were killed instantly. Out of control, the airplane turned to the left, veered off runway and came to rest upside down, broken in two, bursting into flames. Four crew members and one passenger survived while all 174 other occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the person in charge of the runway maintenance allowed a team of three vehicles to enter the runway for maintenance and then fell asleep. Thus, he failed to inform ATC about the presence of ground vehicles on the runway and the Air Traffic Controller based in the Airport Tower was unable to see the vehicles due to poor visibility caused by night and rain falls. As ATC was not aware of the presence of ground vehicles, he was unable to inform the crew prior to landing. Also, it was reported that the vehicles dispatched on the runway were not equipped with rotating flashing beacons and radios that would allow their personnel to listen the tower frequency.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-154B-2 in Norilsk: 99 killed

Date & Time: Nov 16, 1981 at 1737 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-85480

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Krasnoyarsk - Norilsk

MSN:

81A480

YOM:

1981

Flight number:

SU3603

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

160

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

1889

Aircraft flight cycles:

697

Circumstances:

Following an uneventful flight from Krasnoyarsk, the crew started the descent to Norilsk-Alykel Airport. At an altitude of about 600 meters and a speed of 370 km/h, the undercarriage were lowered. At a distance of 19 km from the airport, at an altitude of 500 meters and a speed of 300 km/h, flaps were deployed to an angle of 28°. At this time, the crew calculated the landing speed at 265 km/h according to flight conditions and the total weight of the aircraft. Unfortunately, this calculation was wrong and the correct speed should be 270 km/h. On short final, the airplane descended below the glide and struck the ground at a speed of 261 km/h about 470 meters short of runway threshold. It slid for about 300 meters on an icy ground before coming to rest, bursting into flames. 68 occupants were injured while 99 others were killed, among them four crew members. The aircraft was destroyed.

Probable cause:

The accident resulted from a loss of longitudinal controllability on short final due to the combination of the following factors:
- A significant reduction in the efficiency of the stabilizers after they were positioned beyond an angle of -20 °,
- An automatic reduction of power on all three engine close to idle,
- An aircraft with a forward center of gravity,
- An insufficient approach speed,
- An excessive rate of descent,
- The late recognition by the crew of an emergency situation,
- The failure of the crew to initiate a go-around procedure.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-154B in Prague

Date & Time: Oct 21, 1981

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

HA-LCF

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site: