Tupolev TU-134

The approach to Sofia-Vrazhdebna Airport was initiated by night and limited visibility due to snow falls. On short final, the crew descended below the glide when the aircraft struck successively power cables and tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located 4 km short of runway threshold, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed and all 50 occupants were killed.

En route from Tbilisi to Batumi, while in cruising altitude, seven hijackers (young Georgian people) elected to divert the aircraft to Turkey. Hijackers opened fire in the cabin and cockpit but the copilot was able to make sharp maneuvers, forcing the hijacker to leave the cockpit. The crew was able to return to Tbilisi Airport where security forces stormed the aircraft. Seven occupants, three crew members and four passengers (among them three hijackers) were killed. At least 63 bullets holes were found in the fuselage and the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair due to serious deformation of the structure caused by excessive g loads during an emergency descent.

Following an uneventful flight from Chelyabinsk at an altitude of 10,200 meters, the crew was cleared to initiate the approach to Alma-Ata Airport in view of a landing on runway 05. By night, the crew was instructed to initiate a left turn and to descend to an altitude of 600 meters after being informed of an II-62 approaching eight km right of their position. As the aircraft was too low, the GPWS warning sounded in the cockpit. For unknown reasons, the crew failed to react promptly and initiated a corrective maneuver 23 seconds later. The aircraft nosed up to an angle of 14° then turned left to an angle of 11-12° when it struck two seconds later the slope of Mt Dolan (690 meters high) located about 36 km west of Almaty Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 90 occupants were killed. The wreckage was found 24 meters below the summit.

En route from Simferopol to Yerevan, while cruising at an altitude of 10,200 meters over the city of Gali in Abkhazia, the crew spotted CB's at high altitude but failed to modify his route. The aircraft went into the CB's and encountered severe turbulences. The crew was able to continue the flight within further incident and to land at Yerevan Airport. After being parked on apron, the aircraft was inspected and it was later confirmed that it sustained severe structural damages after it recorded excessive G loads (+3.05/-0.65). There were no casualties but the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair.

At 1808LT, the crew was cleared for takeoff from Sukhumi-Babushara runway 02. During the takeoff run, 26 seconds after it started to roll, at a speed of 195 km/h, the crew sighted a Let L-410M entering the runway. Registered CCCP-67191, the Let L-410 was engaged in a scheduled service (flight SU73G) to Kutaisi with two pilots and nine passengers on board. The captain of the Tupolev decided to abandon the takeoff maneuver and initiated an emergency braking procedure. Spoilers were deployed and revers systems were activated. He elected to turn to the left to reach an exit taxiway. In the same time, the crew of the Let saw the Tupolev coming from their right and increased engine power to move forward. Seven seconds after the crew of the Tupolev rejected takeoff, at a speed of 216 km/h, the right wing of the Tupolev struck the Let that was destroyed upon impact. The Tupolev rolled for about 514 meters then veered off runway to the left and came to rest 48 meters to the left of its centerline. All 82 people on board the TU-134 escaped uninjured while all 11 people on board the Let were killed.

The aircraft departed Moscow-Zhukovsky Airport on a flight to Severomorsk-Safonovo NAS, carrying 16 people. On approach, the crew encountered bad weather conditions and the visibility was poor. On final, the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) alarm sounded in the cockpit, informing the pilot his altitude was too low. The navigator also informed the captain that the aircraft deviated from the approach path to the left by one km but the captain ignored these messages as well as ATC instructions. At an altitude of 206 meters, the left wing struck an electric pole. The aircraft lost height and crashed, bursting into flames. The captain survived and was slightly injured while 15 other occupants were killed.

Brakes and tires overheated during a pre-takeoff inappropriate taxiing manoeuvre at Kiev-Borispol Airport. During the takeoff roll at Borispol Airport, at a speed of 135 km/h, the crew was instructed to abandon the takeoff as he did not receive any clearance. The crew interrupted the procedure and was later cleared for a second departure. During this manoeuvre, brakes and tires overheated again. Upon touchdown at Simferopol Airport, a tire located on the right main gear exploded. Debris struck the lower part of the right wing and punctured a fuel tank. Fuel spilled and a fire erupted. The crew was able to stop the plane on the runway and all 65 occupants were evacuated, among them 29 passengers were injured. The aircraft was partially destroyed by fire.

The day prior to the accident, the aircraft was supposed to fly from Riga to Sochi but the flight was diverted to Sukhumi due to poor weather at destination. On the morning of January 6, the crew completed a positioning flight from Sukhumi to Sochi-Adler without any passengers on board. Following a wrong approach configuration, the aircraft landed at an excessive speed and after touchdown, the crew failed to use the brakes properly. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the airplane overran and came to a halt. All six crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

After touchdown on runway 11 at Warsaw-Okecie Airport, the airplane was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran and struck a four meters high embankment. Upon impact, the right wing was torn off and the airplane came to rest in flames. There were no casualties while the aircraft was written off. The aircraft was christened 'Władysław Reymont'.

The airplane departed Voronezh Airport at 1254LT on the last leg of a flight from Chelyabinsk to Kishinev, Moldavia, carrying 88 passengers and a crew of six. At 1317LT, the airplane entered the Kharkiv ARTCC at an altitude of 8,400 meters. The crew requested several times the permission to climb to 9,600 meters but this was denied due to heavy traffic. Eight minutes later, a second Aeroflot Tupolev TU-134AK entered the same ARTCC at an altitude of 5,700 meters. Registered CCCP-65735, it was completing flight SU7880 from Tashkent to Minsk with an intermediate stop in Donetsk. On board were 77 passengers and a crew of seven, among them all staff from the Pakhtakor Tashkent Football Team who should play against the Dynamo Minsk Team in two days. The crew of the second TU-134 was first cleared to climb to 7,200 meters and later to 8,400 meters. The air traffic controller miscalculated the distance and timing between both aircraft. About 90 seconds later, at an altitude at 8,400 meters but on crossing airways, both airplanes collided at an angle of 95° from each other. The right wing of CCCP-65735 struck the cockpit of CCCP-65816. Both aircraft spiralled to the ground, partially disintegrated in the air and eventually crashed in fields located around the villages of Kurilovka, Nikolaevka and Elizavetovka, about 35 km northwest of Dnipropetrovsk. Debris were found on a large area and none of the 178 occupants survived the accident.