Crash of a Tupolev TU-95RTs into the Barents Sea: 12 killed
Date & Time:
Jan 15, 1971
Registration:
31 black
Survivors:
No
MSN:
67MRTs401
YOM:
1967
Crew on board:
12
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
12
Circumstances:
While completing a maritime patrol flight, the crew informed ground about an engine fire. Shortly later, in a second message, the crew confirmed the fire was extinguished. Seven minutes later, control was lost and the airplane entered a dive before crashing into the Barents Sea, off the Bear Island, south of the Svalbard Archipelago. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 12 crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the loss of control may have been caused by the loss of a propeller blade in flight that penetrated the fuselage, causing a brutal decompression.