Balkhash | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The single engine aircraft was approaching Shatyrkul in foggy conditions when it crashed in a snow covered field located 1,2 km south of the landing zone area, some 20 km north of Shatyrkul. SAR arrived on scene at 1701LT. A female passenger was seriously injured and was evacuated to a local hospital while six other occupants were killed. The four passengers were employees of the Kazakhmys Mining Company. At the time of the accident, the visibility was poor due to fog.

Probable cause:

The crew descended without visual contact to the ground and without having fed the air pressure of the airstrip into the barometric altimeter, causing the aircraft to impact the ground on final approach.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Balkhash Lake: 6 killed

Date & Time: Dec 21, 1955 at 0645 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lisunov LI-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4981

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Desert

Schedule:

Almaty – Balkhash – Moscow

MSN:

2 34 433 07

YOM:

Flight number:

SU090

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

4023

Circumstances:

The aircraft left Almaty Airport at 0515LT bound for Moscow via Balkash, carrying one passenger, five crew members, 763 kilos of various goods and 683 kilos of mail. Upon departure, the total weight of the aircraft was 10,722 kilos, 22 kilos above MTOW. Enroute to Balkash, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. While flying in clouds, some instruments failed. The pilot-in-command lost his orientation and then the control of the aircraft that dove into the ground and crashed in a snow covered area located about 105 km southeast of the Balkash Lake. It was determined that the aircraft hit the ground in a 65° nose-down angle at high speed and disintegrated on impact, causing the debris to be scattered on more than 200 meters. All six occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

Failure of a vacuum regulator which cause the dysfunction of the gyrocompas and then the automatic pilot system. While cruising in very low visibility (night and clouds), the crew suffered a spatial disorientation and lost control of the airplane.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Balkhash: 15 killed

Date & Time: Sep 30, 1948 at 1250 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lisunov LI-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4304

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Desert

Schedule:

Alma Ata – Balkhash – Karaganda – Moscow

MSN:

184 239 02

YOM:

Flight number:

SU060

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

2474

Circumstances:

Few minutes after its takeoff from Balkhash Airport, while climbing, the aircraft flew into clouds when control was lost. The aircraft banked right and lost altitude. Shortly later, the right wing detached and out of control, the aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in an isolated area located about 39 km northwest of Balkhash. The wreckage was spotted 10 days later, on October 10, and all 15 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the pilot in command suffered a spatial disorientation while climbing into clouds. Also, the right wing detached presumably because of aerodynamic forces that exceeded its design.

Crash of a Polikarpov P-Z near Karataly: 1 killed

Date & Time: Feb 20, 1938

Type of aircraft:

Polikarpov P-Z

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L2398

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Karaganda – Balkhash

MSN:

2846

YOM:

1937

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

149

Circumstances:

The pilot departed Karaganda Airport at 0850LT on a mail flight to Balkhash. En route, he encountered thick fog when the airplane impacted the slope of a mountain. The wreckage was found on 8 March 1938 some 20 km southeast of the village of Karataly. The airplane was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

Probable cause:

The accident is the consequence of a controlled flight into terrain after the pilot lost his orientation in fog.
The following contributing factors were identified:
- Poor visibility due to thick fog;
- The pilot decided to continue the flight in such conditions rather than returning to his departure point;
- The airplane impacted terrain at a speed of 350 - 400 km/h.

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

Date & Time: Nov 25, 1935 at 2155 LT

Type of aircraft:

Polikarpov P-5

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1980

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

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 Tupolev ANT-9 in Balkhash: 10 killed

Date & Time: Jul 27, 1934 at 1300 LT

Type of aircraft:

Tupolev ANT-9 (PS-9)

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L130

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Alma-Ata – Karaganda – Taldykorgan – Balkhash

MSN:

131

YOM:

1932

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

179

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Alma-Ata on a flight to Balkhash with intermediate stops in Karaganda and Taldykorgan. Following a wrong approach configuration to Balkhash Airport, the pilot led the airplane descending with a crosswind component which caused the airplane to land on one landing gear only. The pilot increased engine power and initiated a go-around procedure. During the circuit, the airplane encountered wind up to 47 km/h and due to inappropriate techniques on part of the pilot-in-command, the aircraft descended to a height of 20 metres. While completing a turn, it stalled and crashed 2 km from the runway, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed and all 10 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The immediate cause of the accident was a violation by the pilot of the article 175 of the flight manual, making a turn at a too low altitude on final. It was determined that the pilot was inexperienced on this type of aircraft and that he was dispatched in a solo position while he was not certified for. Investigations revealed that the administration released his solo position the day after the accident.