Dushanbe

The Ilyushin 76 was chartered to fly a consignment of 28938 kg of humanitarian aid from Billund, Denmark to Kabul, Afghanistan. The airplane departed Billund at 18:00 and landed at Baku, Azerbaijan for a refueling stop. Visibility at Kabul was reported as 3000 m, and forecast worsening to 1200 m between 00:00 and 06:00 h due to snow and haze. Minima for Kabul airport however were a visibility of 5000 m and a cloud base at 450 m. The captain nevertheless departed Baku. While approaching Kabul the weather was reported to be: wind 340 degrees at 4 kts, visibility 2000 m, 1-2 octas clouds at 480 m, 5-7 octas clouds at 3000 m and a QNH of 1020 hPa. During the approach low clouds were moving in from the north. The visibility was limited to 500 m in fog and the wind direction changed. The crew of the Ilyushin were not informed of these changed values. The approach was continued and flaps and gear were selected down. At decision height the spoilers were extended and the descent was continued. The captain ordered the spoilers to be retracted, but this command was not carried out. At a height of 310 m, 4230 m short of the runway 29 threshold, the flaps were selected down to 43 degrees. The Il-76 was at that stage 365 m to the right of the extended centreline. The flight descended below the glideslope until it contacted the ground 910 m short of the runway threshold, at a speed of 230 km/h. The left undercarriage was destroyed and separated from the aircraft. The lower aft fuselage and cargo door were severely damaged and the pressure in the no. 1 and no. 2 hydraulic systems fell. The crew applied takeoff power, retracted the spoilers and selected flaps back to 30 degrees. The aircraft climbed away and the captain decided to head for Termez, Uzbekistan, but this airport was closed due to fog. It was decided to continue to Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The airplane made a low pass over the field so the air traffic controllers could observe the nature of the damage. A forced landing was then carried out.

Following an uneventful flight, the aircraft entered the UAE airspace and was cleared by Dubai ATC to successively descend to FL170, 100, 060 and 025 via heading 190. Passing 3,460 feet on descent, the crew was cleared to continue to 1,500 feet when, at an altitude of 1,800 feet, the aircraft entered an area of turbulences. The level of 1,500 feet was reached 15 km from the runway 30 threshold. For unknown reasons, the crew failed to report he was passing 1,500 feet and was then instructed to continue via heading 270 for the final approach to runway 30. In a relative limited visibility, the crew initiated a right turn at a speed of 400 km/h then lowered the landing gear. At an altitude of 820 feet, an alarm sounded in the cockpit, informing the crew about an excessive angle of attack. The captain corrected the pitch from 20° to 14° when few seconds later, at an altitude of 690 feet, the aircraft entered a second area of turbulences. The captain realized his altitude was insufficient and requested an increase of engine power when the aircraft struck the ground and crashed 13 km short of runway, bursting into flames. The copilot was the only survivor while 85 other occupants were killed. The aircraft disintegrated on impact.

During takeoff roll at Khorugh Airport, at Vr speed, the crew started the rotation but the aircraft failed to respond and did not lift off. It continued at high speed, overran, collided with a concrete wall located 150 metres past the runway end and eventually crashed in the Pyanj River. Four passengers were rescued while 82 other occupants were killed, most of them woman, children and soldiers.

The twin engine aircraft was completing a special flight from Dushanbe to Lyakhsh on behalf of the Tajik Civil Aviation Department. For unknown reasons, the crew continued the approach at an insufficient altitude when the unstabilized aircraft struck the ground 210 metres short of runway and 50 metres to the right of its extended centerline. On impact, the undercarriage were torn off and the aircraft came to rest. All 13 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The three engine aircraft deviated from the prescribed flight path by 67 km while circumnavigating a thunderstorm over the mountains with neither crew nor ATC realizing the deviation. At this time, the radio compass did not work properly due to the interference caused by the proximity of the thunderstorm, and the wind component was different than forecast. When the crew reported overflying the outer marker, the aircraft was in fact still 43 km away from it. While descending in clouds, the aircraft crashed at a height of 2,840 metres into the slope of a mountain located 44 km northwest of Dushanbe Airport. All 29 occupants were killed.

While cruising at an altitude of 6,600 meters, the crew received the permission to descent to 4,500 meters when the automatic pilot system was deactivated. Suddenly, the airplane banked left to an angle of 90° then entered a dive. At an altitude of 2,200 meters, due to excessive g loads, the left wing separated and the aircraft caught fire. Out of control, it crashed at a speed of 840 km/h in an open field located 8,4 km southeast of Buston Station, about 38 km northwest of Leninabad Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 79 occupants have been killed.

On a flight from Dushanbe to Murghob in support of a geological expedition, a fire erupted (probably started by an acetone spill) while the aircraft was flying through the gorge of the river Murghob. The crew attempted a forced landing near the confluence of the rivers Murghob and Zapadny Pshart, some 60 km west of Murghob, but while flying a steep left turn, the aircraft collided with the northern slope of the gorge and crashed. Both pilots and all 4 passengers were killed. The wreckage was found two days later.

At 0613LT, while cruising at an altitude of 4,000 meters, the crew informed ATC he just passed over the city of Rushan eight minutes earlier. Shortly later, weather conditions deteriorated and the crew encountered clouds and low visibility. Now at an altitude of 4,800 meters, the aircraft lost height due to strong downdraft and hit the south slope of a mountain located near the Yauza Pass located about 15 km northwest of Rushan. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all seven occupants were killed. The wreckage was found two days later at an altitude of 4,800 meters, approx 100 meters below the summit.

On a cargo flight from Stalinabad to Kulyab when the right wing caught fire some 20 minutes into the flight (probably due to a leak in a fuel pipe). The fuel tanks in the right wing exploded, the aircraft dove into the ground and crashed into rocks in the Rangon Mountain Range located southeast of Stalinabad. All three crew members were killed.

The airplane departed Stalinabad on a flight to Khorugh, carrying six passengers (four adults and two children) and one pilot. En route, weather conditions deteriorated and the visibility was poor. Despite the situation, the pilot decided to continue. Flying in clouds, the airplane struck a rock and crashed in deep snow at an altitude of 3,900 metres near the Odudi Pass. All seven occupants survived the accident with minor injuries but without any food and in extreme conditions with very low outside temperature. Twelve days after the accident, the pilot and three passengers tried to find help and left the crash site. During this trip, a passenger died of cold. On May 12, an expedition was sent to the crash site and found a woman and her two children aged one and nine died of cold and hunger.