Date & Time:
Nov 17, 1975 at 2214 LT
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-24
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-46467
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Tbilisi - Batumi - Sukhumi - Krasnodar
MSN:
27307905
YOM:
1972
Flight number:
SU6274
Country:
Georgia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
33
Pax fatalities:
33
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
38
Aircraft flight hours:
7335
Aircraft flight cycles:
6878
Circumstances:
En route from Batumi to Sukhumi, weather conditions worsened and the crew was cleared to modify his route to avoid the low pressure are to the north. Few minutes later, the crew was cleared to descend to 2,400 meters. While cruising at a speed of 410 km/h in limited visibility due to the night and marginal weather conditions, the airplane struck the south slope of Mt Apshara (2,580 meters high) located about 26 km northeast of Gali, Abkhazia. The wreckage was found few hours later and all 38 occupants have been killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the accident was the consequence of a series of negligences and wrong decisions on part of ATC who cleared the crew to descent to an unsafe altitude of 2,400 meters while the minimum safe altitude for the area was 3,600 meters. This was made possible by several errors in the track calculation after the crew has been cleared to avoid the low pressure area but his position was 25 km too far from the prescribed flight path at that moment. The crew failed to take the appropriate measures to know his proper position which was considered as a contributing factor.
