Date & Time: Oct 23, 1959 at 2210 LT
Type of aircraft:
Ilyushin II-14
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-41806
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Baku – Makhatchkala – Astrakhan – Stalingrad – Moscow
MSN:
6 34 17 09
YOM:
31
Flight number:
SU200
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
24
Pax fatalities:
23
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
28
Aircraft flight hours:
4945
Circumstances:
On approach to Moscow-Vnukovo, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions with clouds and limited visibility. By night, the aircraft passed below the glide until it struck tree tops and crashed in flames in a wooded area located 1,400 meters short of runway 02 threshold. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and only one passenger survived. Among those killed were the Russian composer Sergei Artyomevich Agababov aged 32.
Probable cause:
The accident was the consequence of poor approach techniques on part of the flying crew who allowed the aircraft to descent below the glide in poor visibility until the airplane struck obstacles. Following factors were considered as contributory:
- The crew was tired and failed to observe a sufficient rest time,
- At the time of the accident, the crew was on duty since 13h50 with 5h53 cumulated flying hours,
- The pilots performances were diminished by fatigue and work overload,
- The copilot's experience was insufficient,
- Poor visibility due to the night and a cloud layer down to 60 meters from the ground.