Date & Time:
Jan 23, 1955 at 0757 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lisunov LI-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4510
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Kiev – Mykolaiv – Simferopol
MSN:
184 297 09
YOM:
1948
Flight number:
SU613
Country:
Ukraine
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
2
Pax on board:
5
Pax fatalities:
1
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
3
Aircraft flight hours:
5070
Circumstances:
Enroute, one of the crew member opened the right cockpit window and threw away his cigarette that went into the air inlet of a ventilation system. A fire spread quickly and as the crew was unable to extinguish it, the captain decided to reduce his altitude and to attempt an emergency landing. The airplane belly landed in a snow covered field located near Lipovets, slid for few hundred meters and came to rest in flames on the iced Rosava River. Two crew members and one passenger were killed while ten other occupants were injured. The aircraft was written off.
Probable cause:
The aircraft has been subject to technical modifications on part of the Aeroflot technicians few days prior to the accident and converted to a cargo version capable to carry a maximum of 9 passengers. It was reported that several mistakes were done during this conversion, especially concerning the ventilation system air inlet that was installed in a wrong position, just behind the cockpit window instead of lower or higher. Investigations revealed that the fire spread quickly because the insulating material used failed to respond to the requirements and was unimpregnated wadding. The aircraft accumulated 73 flying hours since this conversion.
