Polikarpov P-5

Landing (descent or approach)

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1617

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Khabarovsk – Komsomolsk-on-Amur – Nijnetambovskoye – Bogorodskoye – Nikolayevsk-on-Amur

MSN:

9426

YOM:

1934

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

717

Circumstances:

The pilot was completing a cargo flight from Khabarovsk to Nikolayevsk-on-Amur with intermediate stops in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Nijnetambovskoye and Bogorodskoye. On the final leg from Bogorodskoye, while approaching Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, weather conditions deteriorated quickly. The visibility was less than one km due to snow falls. Apparently, the pilot attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft impacted the top of a hill and crashed on snowy ground about 12 km northwest of Nikolayevsk-on-Amur Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

Probable cause:

Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 in Tyr

Date & Time: Mar 6, 1936

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1078

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Khabarovsk – Komsomolsk-on-Amur – Nijnetambovskoye – Bogorodskoye – Nikolayevsk-on-Amur

MSN:

6528

YOM:

1933

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

707

Circumstances:

The pilot was completing a cargo flight from Khabarovsk to Nikolayevsk-on-Amur with intermediate stops in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Nijnetambovskoye and Bogorodskoye. On the leg from Bogorodskoye, weather conditions deteriorated quickly. The visibility was less than one km due to snow falls. The pilot attempted an emergency landing when a wing impacted the ground and the airplane crashed in a snow covered field located 2,5 km east of the village of Tyr, 60 km southwest of Nikolayevsk-on-Amur Airport. The pilot was injured.
Probable cause:

Probable cause:

Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 in Lukolovo: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jan 22, 1936

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1738

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Okha – Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinski

MSN:

9483

YOM:

1935

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Okha in good weather conditions, carrying three passengers and one pilot to Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinski. About 15 minutes into the flight, weather conditions worsened and the visibility was poor due to snow falls. The pilot reduced his altitude and continued along the shore. In a visibility estimated to be 15-20 metres, the pilot failed to realize he was too low. In a slight turn, the airplane impacted the ground and crashed on a icy area located in the Tatar Strait, about one km off the village of Lukolovo. The aircraft was destroyed and all four occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

Controlled flight into terrain after the pilot continued the flight at an insufficient altitude in poor visibility (15-20 metres) due to snow falls. Information transmitted to the crew regarding weather conditions en route were erroneous and did not reflect the actual conditions.

Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 near Doshtak: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jan 10, 1936 at 1850 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1532

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Khorugh - Stalinabad

MSN:

7967

YOM:

1934

Location:

Doshtak

Country:

Tajikistan

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

745

Aircraft flight cycles:

490

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Khorugh on a flight to Stalinabad with one passenger and one pilot on board. Weather conditions were considered as good. About an hours into the flight, after entering a valley, the pilot lost his bearings and was unable to locate his position. After dark, the pilot saw the lights of the city of Doshtak and elected to land when the airplane impacted the slope of a mountain. The pilot was killed and the passenger was uninjured.

Probable cause:

The pilot got lost after an hour of flight as he failed to use his charts properly. A poor crew training was considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 in Khorugh: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jan 7, 1936

Type of aircraft:

Landing (descent or approach)

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1571

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Schedule:

Stalinabad - Khorugh

MSN:

8555

YOM:

1934

Location:

Khorugh

Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province

Country:

Tajikistan

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

682

Aircraft flight cycles:

708

Circumstances:

Following a wrong approach configuration, the pilot missed the runway and landed beside the runway in 40 cm of snow. After a course of 50 metres, the airplane overturned and came to rest upside down. The pilot was ejected from the cockpit and killed. Both passengers were injured.

Probable cause:

Wrong approach configuration on part of the pilot.

Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 off Posolskoye: 2 killed

Date & Time: Dec 16, 1935 at 1600 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1555

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Irkutsk – Ulan-Ude – Mogocha

MSN:

8259

YOM:

1934

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The single engine airplane departed Irkutsk Airport on a cargo flight to Mogocha, carrying one passenger, one pilot and a load of 230 kg of various goods. En route, the engine caught fire an the pilot attempted an emergency landing when the airplane crashed on the ice of Lake Baïkal, some 10 km west of Posolskoye. SAR operations were initiated three days later only. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire and both occupants were not found. Some foot print were found on ice and snow but both occupants were later considered as deceased.

Probable cause:

Engine fire in flight, maybe following the failure of a fuel supply or a malfunction of the carburetor.

Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 on Mt Kyzyltas: 4 killed

Date & Time: Nov 25, 1935 at 2155 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1980

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Balkhash – Karaganda

MSN:

10109

YOM:

1935

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

107

Circumstances:

The single engine airplane departed Balkash Airport at 1500LT on a schedule service to Karaganda, carrying three passengers, one pilot and mail. En route, weather conditions worsened and the visibility was poor due to snow falls and fog. Instead of returning to Balkhash, the pilot decided to continue. Flying at night, the pilot flew for almost four hours in difficult conditions when the airplane impacted the slope of Mt Kyzyltas located some 190 km north of Balkash, in the region of Aktogay. In the evening, the manager of the Balkhach Airport received a message confirming that the plane landed at Karaganda, which was wrong. It took two days for the Authorities to realize this information was erroneous. The wreckage was eventually found on the slope of the mountain. The aircraft was destroyed and all four occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The accident was the consequence of a navigation error on part of the pilot who was exhausted after flying nearly seven hours in difficult flying conditions (fog, snowfall, night and rough terrain).
The following contributing factors were identified:
- The aircraft departed Balkhach Airport at 1500LT for a 2 hours and 40 minutes flight, giving an ETA in Karaganda at 1740LT when the sunset was scheduled at 1716LT,
- The aircraft was not certified to fly at night,
- The pilot was only allowed to carry passengers during daylight hours and in good weather conditions only,
- The pilot made the wrong decision by continuing the flight when he should have turned back when he encountered bad weather conditions (fog and snow),
- The pilot was overconfident,
- The pilot obtained weather bulletins for both departure and arrival airports but no information about the conditions en route.

Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 in Arsen'evo: 1 killed

Date & Time: Sep 27, 1935 at 0340 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1902

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Moscow - Kharkiv

MSN:

9563

YOM:

1935

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

478

Circumstances:

The pilot, sole on board, departed Moscow Airport at 2305LT on September 26, one hour beyond the schedule ETD, on a night mail flight to Kharkiv. While cruising at night between the cities of Tula and Orel, the pilot lost his bearings because the light beacon was not functioning. It was later determined that the light beacons between Tula and Orel were out of service after midnight. After more than four hours of flight, the pilot attempted an emergency landing when he lost control of the airplane that crashed in a field located in Arsen'evo. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the accident was the consequence of a loss of control while flying at night without sufficient visual cues. The operations cleared the pilot to complete the flight while the light beacons were unserviceable on the leg from Tula to Orel. Also, the pilot was totally inexperienced in night flight which was considered as contributing factors.

Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 in Syrt: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jul 8, 1935 at 1700 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1890

Flight Phase: