Kurgan | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The crew was completing the 8th sortie of the day, consisting of a spraying mission over a wooded area located near Kurgan. En route, the engine failed and the crew elected to make an emergency landing in a pasture when the aircraft collided with telephone poles and a stone wall and crashed. The captain while slightly injured while the copilot escaped uninjured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

Engine failure for unknown reasons.

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

Date & Time: Mar 8, 1988 at 1910 LT

Type of aircraft:

Tupolev TU-154

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-85413

Flight Phase:

Parking

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

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 Polikarpov P-5 in Kurgan: 3 killed

Date & Time: May 20, 1936 at 1445 LT

Type of aircraft:

Polikarpov P-5

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L599

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Novosibirsk – Kurgan – Sverdlovsk

MSN:

YOM:

1934

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

692

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Novosibirsk on a flight to Sverdlovsk with an intermediate stop in Kurgan, carrying one passenger and two crew members. On final approach to Kurgan Airport, at a height of 200 metres, the pilot initiated a turn to the left when he lost control of the airplane that crashed in the Tobol River, one km from the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed and all three occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the accident was the consequence of the combination of the following factors:
- The aircraft was incorrectly loaded, resulting in a loss of longitudinal controllability;
- The total weight of the aircraft was 300 kilos over the maximum allowable landing weight;
- The engine stopped on approach because the tank to which the fuel selector was connected was empty;
- Lack of knowledge on the part of the crew regarding the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft;
- Poor piloting techniques.