Putilov Stal-3 | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The single engine airplane departed Voronezh Airport at 1355LT on a schedule service to Moscow, carrying four passengers (three adults and one child), two crew members and 104 kg of cargo. About half an hour later, it crashed in unknown circumstances in a pasture located 1,500 metres west of the village of Verkhnyaya Kolybelka. Both crew members were killed and all four passengers were injured, one seriously.

Crash of a Putilov Stal-3 in Novoarkhangelsk: 3 killed

Date & Time: Sep 1, 1938

Type of aircraft:

Putilov Stal-3

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1260

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Kiev - Odessa

MSN:

260

YOM:

1936

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The single engine airplane departed Kiev on a flight to Odessa, carrying one passenger and two crew members. About an hour and 27 minutes into the flight, while in cruising altitude, the aircraft was approaching an area of storm when the right wing suffered a structural failure and detached. The airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a pasture. All three occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The cause of the crash was an insufficient structural strength of the upper core of the fuselage frame n°3, which caused the frame to collapse under the conditions of flight in a pre-thunderstorm front and the subsequent collapse of the entire aircraft.
The following factors were identified:
- Insufficient strength of some elements of the airplane according to the conditions set by the strength standards of 1937,
- Failure of the design bureau of Plant n°81, which allowed the frame n°3 of the fuselage to have insufficient strength,
- Failure of the weather station at Kiev Airport, which did not indicate thunderstorm phenomena in the weather forecast for the Kiev - Odessa route, as it was according to the weather service sector in reality.

Crash of a Putilov Stal-3 in Strogino: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jun 22, 1938 at 1500 LT

Type of aircraft:

Putilov Stal-3

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1206

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Test

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Moscow - Moscow

MSN:

206

YOM:

1935

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

453

Circumstances:

The single engine airplane departed Moscow-Tushino on a local post maintenance test flight. On board were one pilot, one technician, one engineer, one guard and two firefighters from the airport. After 15 minutes of flight, the pilot initiated the approach. As he was not properly aligned, he raised the flaps but did not increase the engine power, causing the aircraft to glide the to 'slid' to the left and to descend. From a height of about 100 metres, the aircraft stalled and crashed in a field. All six occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the accident was the consequence of a wrong approach configuration on part of the pilot who failed to increase engine power to initiate a go around procedure.

Crash of a Putilov Stal-3 in Brovary: 4 killed

Date & Time: Dec 29, 1937

Type of aircraft:

Putilov Stal-3

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1228

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Test

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Kiev - Kiev

MSN:

228

YOM:

1935

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

1215

Circumstances:

Following a flight from Dniepropetrovsk to Kyiv, the pilot reported technical problems with various instruments such as the horizon and the speed indicator. Several repairs were made and the pilot decided to perform a local test flight. Four engineers and two employees of the airport boarded the plane. After takeoff, at a height of about 100 metres, the pilot completed a series of five turns when the airplane rolled to the right, descended to the ground and crashed near Brovary. Four passengers were killed and three other occupants were injured.

Probable cause:

The accident was the consequence of the following factors:
- The airplane' speed was estimated to be 170 km/h prior to the series of turns then dropped to 110 km/h during the last turn, causing a stall,
- The pilot failed to pay attention to the instruments and probably lost his bearings.

Crash of a Putilov Stal-3 in Nizhne Kazache: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jul 10, 1937 at 1047 LT

Type of aircraft:

Putilov Stal-3

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1232

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Moscow – Yelets – Voronezh – Astrakhan

MSN:

232

YOM:

1936

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

489

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Moscow on a flight to Astrakhan with intermediate stops in Yelets and Voronezh, carrying three passengers, two crew members and a load of 319 kg of mail. About 15 minutes after takeoff from Yelets Airport, while cruising at an altitude of 660 metres, the engine started to fail. The captain reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing in a rye field when the airplane impacted an embankment, lost its undercarriage and crashed. All five occupants were injured, the mechanic seriously. He died the next day from his injuries.

Probable cause:

The engine failure resulted from the destruction of the connecting rods on cylinders n°2 and 6 due to the fact that the fuel used had a too low octane rate and that the oil was not compliant.