Baku

Survivors:

Site:

Landing (descent or approach)

Schedule:

Nakhchivan - Baku

MSN:

63383

YOM:

1980

Flight number:

AHY056

Location:

Nakhchivan

Country:

Azerbaijan

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

9534

Captain / Total hours on type:

3641.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

4557

Copilot / Total hours on type:

263

Aircraft flight hours:

27500

Aircraft flight cycles:

17893

Circumstances:

During initial climb, at a height of about 60 metres and at a speed of 317 km/h, the left engine failed. The copilot counteracted the left bank and five seconds later, the flight engineer informed the crew that the right engine also failed. The captain took over control and the aircraft climbed to the height of 197 metres when the speed dropped to 290 km/h. The captain elected to make an emergency landing but was forced to make a sharp turn to the right to avoid a building. The aircraft rolled to the right to an angle of 37° and adopted a rate of descent of 1,960 feet per minute before crashing in an open field located 3,850 metres from the airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact. Thirty occupants were rescued while 52 others, among them two crew members, were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the left engine failed during initial climb following the disintegration of the 2nd and 3rd stage of the compressor. Investigations revealed that the maintenance was non compliant and that 38 screws were missing on the main compressor, a violation that was not repaired during the last maintenance inspection conducted 30 flying hours prior to the accident. Following a lack of crew coordination but also a faulty ergonomy of the flight deck, the flight engineer mistakenly shut down the right engine that was running properly.

Crash of a Boeing 707-323C in Baku: 2 killed

Date & Time: Nov 30, 1995 at 1910 LT

Type of aircraft:

Boeing 707

Operator:

Registration:

4K-401

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Landing (descent or approach)

Schedule:

Ürümqi - Baku

MSN:

19584

YOM:

1967

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

After takeoff from Ürümqi Airport, while on a cargo flight to Baku, the crew encountered technical problems with the left main gear that remained down. The crew decided to continue to Baku in such configuration. On approach to Baku-Bina Airport by night, the captain contacted ATC and was cleared to proceed to a low pass to check the undercarriage. Following the low pass, the crew initiated a turn to the left and followed a circuit for a second approach. While flying at a relative low altitude, all four engines suffered a loss of power. The aircraft lost height, collided with light poles on a bridge and crashed in a field located 9 km from the airport. Four crew members were seriously injured and two others were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that all four engines lost power due to low fuel. The following contributing factors were reported:
- A malfunction of the landing gear retraction system, which led to fly with a landing gear extended and caused an excessive fuel consumption. The subsequent failure to lock the left landing gear in the extended position made it necessary to do a second approach with a limited amount of fuel.
- The fuel gauge indicator readings were inaccurate and prevented the crew from having correct info about the amount of fuel available and applying the flight manual's recommendations for low-fuel flights.
- The lack of an airline bulletin on the features of the fuel system prevented the crew in the emergency situation from selecting the optimum mode for flying with a limited amount of fuel.
- Inadequate operational and maintenance organization on the part of the companies Baku Air and ALG Inc.

Crash of a Yakovlev Yak-40 in Krasnovodsk: 23 killed

Date & Time: Aug 15, 1975 at 2201 LT

Type of aircraft:

Yakovlev Yak-40

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-87323

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Balkan Province (Balkan welaýaty)

Schedule:

Bakou – Krasnovodsk – Ashkhabad

MSN:

9 33 02 30

YOM:

1973

Flight number:

SU053A

Location:

Krasnovodsk

Country:

Turkmenistan

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

2130

Aircraft flight cycles:

1914

Circumstances:

On approach to Krasnovodsk Airport by night, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions and at an approximate altitude of 300 meters while on a distance of 5 km from the airfield, the aircraft's speed dropped from 260 km/h to 200 km/h with a rate of descent of 2,5 meters per second. The crew elected to correct this configuration but the aircraft continued to descend until it struck, at a speed of 150 km/h, a rocky cliff situated on the shore of the Caspian Sea, some 159 meters above sea level and located about 4,700 meters short of runway threshold. Upon impact, the right engine and the right wing were torn off, the aircraft bounced and then crashed in flames few dozen meters further. Two crew members and 21 passengers were killed while 15 other occupants were injured.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the aircraft was caught by orographic turbulence on final approach whose speed was about 30 meters per second (108 km/h). This caused the aircraft to lose altitude and speed and any correction from the flying crew was unsuccessful. The following contributing factors were reported:
- Lack of knowledge on part of the meteorologist about the characteristics of such specific climate phenomenon,
- The absence of a system able to detect such phenomenon,
- The crew inexperience in such flight conditions.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18B near Semipalatinsk: 63 killed

Date & Time: May 11, 1973 at 0437 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-18

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-75687

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Desert

Schedule:

Baku - Tashkent - Novosibirsk

MSN:

189 0012 02

YOM:

1959

Flight number:

SU6551

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

21663

Aircraft flight cycles:

11787

Circumstances:

While cruising by night at an altitude of 7,800 meters in good weather conditions, the pilot-in-command initiated a turn to the left when control was lost. The airplane entered a dive and spiraled to the ground. At an altitude of 5,000 meters, some elements of the upper wing surface and the stabilisers detached and the airplane disintegrated in the air before crashing in a steppe located about 84 km south of Semipalatinsk. Wings and stabilisers parts were found at a distance of some 3.5 km from the crash site. All 63 occupants have been killed.

Probable cause:

The exact cause of the accident could not be determined. The assumption that the aircraft collided with an object was not ruled out. It is believed the crew may have start an emergency descent but the reason of this manoeuvre could not be established. FDR could not be read properly as it was seriously damaged in the crash.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14P off Baku: 33 killed

Date & Time: Apr 23, 1966 at 0803 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-14

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-61772

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Baku – Makhatchkala – Saratov

MSN:

1460 003 10

YOM:

1956

Flight number:

SU2723

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

16257

Circumstances:

Twelve minutes after takeoff, while climbing in stormy weather, both engines started to run intermittently, maybe due to a technical problem with the sparking plugs while in contact with water. In such conditions, the captain decided to return to Baku-Bina Airport but due to poor visibility, he was unable to locate the airfield. Five minutes later, both engines temperature dropped and four minutes later, out of control, the airplane crashed into the sea off Baku. SAR operations were quickly conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the 33 occupants was found. On May 13, 1966, the wreckage was found at a depth of 23 meters some 19 km south of the Nargen Island.

Probable cause:

Investigations were unable to determine with certainty the cause of the engine problems.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Nukha: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jan 29, 1964 at 1323 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lisunov LI-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-54818

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Byelokany – Zaqatala – Nukha – Baku

MSN:

184 352 02

YOM:

1950

Flight number:

A-4

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

12589

Circumstances:

The takeoff from Nukha Airport was started from a snow covered runway (compacted snow) with snow showers and cross winds. After a roll of 124 meters, the tail wheel lifted off when the left main gear struck an irregularity on the runway surface. Instead of abandoning the takeoff procedure, the captain continued and elected to takeoff quickly. He pulled the control column to rotate but the aircraft's speed was too low. The airplane took off but in stall conditions, it bounced several times then rolled down into a ravine and came to rest by the Gurdzhanachay River, some 900 meters past the runway threshold. The copilot was killed and 21 other occupants were injured, some of them seriously. The aircraft was written off.

Probable cause:

The takeoff procedure was started from a contaminated runway (compacted snow) and with lateral winds up to 5 meters per second. When an emergency situation occurred (left main gear impact), the captain failed to abandon the takeoff manoeuvre and elected to rotate with an insufficient speed, which caused the aircraft to stall.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Izobilnoye: 6 killed

Date & Time: Nov 15, 1963 at 1820 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lisunov LI-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-16139

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Yerevan – Baku – Dnipropetrovsk

MSN:

41 04

YOM:

1948

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

16084

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Baku Airport at 1408LT on a cargo flight to Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, carrying two engineers from the motorist Zaporozhie, four crew members and a load consisting of five gear boxes for a total weight of 1,366 kilos. After takeoff from Baku, the airplane climbed to an altitude of 2,100 meters and the crew obtained the permission to modify his route to make an intermediate stop at Rostov-on-Don before continuing to Dnipropetrovsk. Doing so, the crew failed to request information about weather conditions en route. Later into the flight, weather conditions worsened and the captain requested the permission to descend to 1,500 meters but this was not possible and ATC instructed the crew to maintain the assigned altitude of 2,100 meters. While cruising in a thunderstorm, the airplane went out of control, partially disintegrated in the air and eventually crashed in a field located 10 km north of Izobilnoye. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all six occupants were killed. It was reported that the left stabiliser was the first part to be sheared off during the descent and was found 850 meters from the main wreckage.

Probable cause:

Loss of control caused by severe downdrafts and turbulences while cruising in a thunderstorm activity. It was reported that the crew has not been informed about the deterioration of the weather conditions.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 near Yevlakh: 10 killed

Date & Time: Oct 12, 1948 at 1300 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-12

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1450

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Tashkent – Baku – Tbilisi – Sochi

MSN:

8 30 25 17

YOM:

1948

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

274

Circumstances:

About one hour after departure from Baku-Bina Airport, while flying some 250 km north of the capital city, weather conditions worsened. Due to poor reception of local beacon transmission, the captain decided to return to Baku but was unable to locate his position with certainty. While cruising at an altitude of 3,000 meters in poor visibility, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain. SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended after few days as no trace of the aircraft nor the 10 occupants was found.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the crew did not prepare the flight correctly and failed to obtain suitable information about weather conditions enroute.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 off Baku: 7 killed

Date & Time: Nov 25, 1944

Type of aircraft:

Lisunov LI-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4111

Flight Phase:

Tupolev ANT-35 (ANT-35bis & PS-35)

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Baku - Baku

MSN:

184 145 09

YOM:

1944

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew left Baku-Bina Airport at 0150LT for a two hours and a half training mission in the region of Baku. While cruising at an altitude of 1,000 meters, the aircraft caught fire, went out of control and plunged into the Caspian Sea off Baku. Some debris were found on a beach north of the capital city two days later but no trace of the wreckage nor the seven crew member was found.

Crash of a Tupolev PS-35bis near Shemakha: 5 killed

Date & Time: Nov 11, 1942 at 1300 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L2483

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors: