Tupolev TU-134

The airplane departed Donetsk Airport at 1311LT on the last leg of a flight from Tashkent to Minsk. 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. At 1317LT, another TU-134 registered CCCP-65816 entered the Kharkiv ARTCC at an altitude of 8,400 meters. In charge to complete flight SU7628 from Chelyabinsk to Kishinev via Voronezh, the aircraft was carrying 88 passengers and a crew of six. His crew requested several times the permission to climb to 9,600 meters but this was denied due to heavy traffic. Eight minutes later, CCCP-65735 entered the same ARTCC at an altitude of 5,700 meters and his crew 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.

The crew was engaged in a local training flight at Tyumen-Roshchino Airport and successively completed four touch-and-goes at a relative high speed. On approach with flaps down at 15-20°, the airplane landed at high speed. Upon touchdown, the right rear tyre located on the left main gear burst. Debris punctured a hydraulic line, causing the landing gear to be partially retracted. A fire erupted in the wheel well and the airplane came to rest on runway. All occupants were evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The final approach was completed by night with the wheel brakes locked. Upon touchdown, all tyres exploded. The left main gear broke off, causing the left wing to struck the ground. A fuel tank was punctured and the aircraft caught fire. Out of control, it veered off runway to the right and came to rest in flames. All 89 occupants survived, 10 of them, including two crew members, were injured. The aircraft was destroyed by fire.

The airplane departed Omsk on a cargo flight to Liepaja with an intermediate stop in Gorki, carrying a crew of five and a load of eight tons of radio station's components. The aircraft, not configured for cargo with no cargo door and no cargo compartment, was loaded with light components in the rear part of the cabin and heavy parts in the front of the cabin. There were no passengers on board. The crew initiated the descent to Liepaja by night and poor weather conditions with a limited visibility to 900 meters (below airport minima) with mixed rain and snow falls. On approach, at an altitude of 310 meters and at a speed of 265 km/h, flaps were lowered and the aircraft became unstable on its roll and pitch axis. At an altitude of 180 meters, the autopilot was disconnected then the aircraft deviated to the right of the approach path. While trying to establish a visual contact with the runway, the pilot-in-command initiated a slight turn to the left when the airplane adopted an excessive rate of descent of 8 meters per second until it struck tree tops located 1,690 meters short of runway threshold. The airplane stalled then struck the embankment of a railroad and eventually crashed in flames in a snow covered field located 155 meters to the right of the extended runway centerline. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire. A crew member was seriously injured while four other occupants were killed.

After takeoff from Sofia-Vrazhdebna Airport, the crew informed ATC about an unexpected situation and was cleared to return for an emergency landing. Control was lost from an altitude of 4,900 meters and the aircraft entered a spin and crashed in an open field located near the village of Gabare. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 73 occupants were killed.

The approach to Berlin-Schönefeld Airport runway 25L was completed with the autopilot activated. At a height of 120 meters, the crew was supposed to switch off the autopilot but the captain decided to continue in such configuration, using elevator to counter the autopilot. During the last segment, the rate of descent increased to 6-8 meters per second when the airplane struck the runway surface. Upon impact, the left wing was torn off. Out of control, the airplane veered off runway and came to rest upside down in a grassy area, about 400 meters from the initial impact. All 74 occupants were evacuated, eight of them were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed.
Photos via www.interflug.biz

While descending to Bucharest-Otopeni Airport at an altitude of 4,000 feet, the crew was cleared for a straight-in approach to runway 26 and to descend to 2,000 feet. The airplane lost height and struck the ground. It lost its undercarriage and slid for few hundred meters before coming to rest in flames in an open field located 6,3 km southwest of Urziceni, about 37 km northeast of Otopeni Airport. All eight crew members and 21 passengers were killed while 24 other people were injured. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire.

On approach to Libreville-Léon Mba Airport, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when the airplane struck the ground and crashed in flames short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed and all eight occupants were killed.

On final approach to Prague-Ruzyne Airport in limited visibility, the crew was cleared to land. Upon landing, the Tupolev collided with a CSA Ilyushin II-18V registered OK-NAA. With six crew members on board, the II-18 was just cleared to line up for takeoff. While the II-18 was slightly damaged, the TU-134 veered off runway, lost its undercarriage and came to rest in a snow covered field. All 48 occupants were evacuated safely, four of them were injured.

The approach to Leipzig-Halle Airport was completed in marginal weather conditions. On short final, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when, at a height of 3 meters, the airplane struck the localizer antenna. The left engine and a part of the left wing were torn off. Out of control, the airplane crashed in flames 300 meters short of runway threshold. Three crew members and four passengers were injured while 27 other occupants were killed.