Ekimchan | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The single engine airplane depart Ekimchan Airport at 0834LT on a cargo flight to Udskoye, carrying two pilots and a load of 1,199 kilos of various goods. Six minutes after takeoff, while climbing to an altitude of 1,600 metres, the crew noticed a strong smell of fuel in the cockpit and decided to return. During the descent, flames came out from the engine that started to rough and eventually stopped on short final. The airplane stalled, impacted a birch tree and crashed in a wooded area located 132 metres short of runway 06, bursting into flames. The copilot was killed and the captain was seriously injured. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire.

Probable cause:

The crash of An-2 RA-02305 aircraft occurred during the forced landing. The necessity of the forced landing was caused by the engine stopping in flight due to the destruction of the cylinder head No.1 of the ASH62-IR engine No.K16509153. The destruction of cylinder head No. 1 is of fatigue nature and occurred due to exhaustion of fatigue life of the cylinder head material and reaching its limit state. Most likely, during the last repair of the engine the crack in the cylinder head was present, but was not through and was not revealed during the inspection. The most likely contributing factor to stopping the engine in flight was the impoverishment of the fuel-air mixture due to icing of the BAC filter mesh and the presence of a rubber plug on the filter flange of the corrector.

Final Report:

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R near Ekimchan: 3 killed

Date & Time: Sep 4, 2005 at 1255 LT

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

RF-00901

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Ekimchan - Udskoye - Chumikan

MSN:

1G171-22

YOM:

1976

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft departed Ekimchan on a flight to Chumikan with an intermediate stop in Udskoye, carrying two pilots, one passenger and a load of food. Eight minutes after takeoff, while flying in poor weather conditions, the single engine aircraft struck the slope of Mt Bryus (1,767 metres high) located in the Selemja Mountain Range, some 19 km east of Ekimchan. The wreckage was found 12 days later, at an altitude of 1,560 metres. All three occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

Controlled flight into terrain after the crew decided to continue the flight under VFR mode in IMC conditions. It is possible that the crew lost his sense of orientation shortly after takeoff.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R off Ekimchan

Date & Time: Sep 18, 1992

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-40670

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

MSN:

1G214-28

YOM:

1985

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

3929

Circumstances:

On approach to Ekimchan Airport, the engine caught fire and failed. The aircraft lost height, crashed in the Selemdja River and sank. Both pilots were injured.

Probable cause:

Engine fire on approach for unknown reasons.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2 near Ekimchan: 1 killed

Date & Time: Aug 13, 1978 at 0942 LT

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-55719

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Ekimchan - Baladek

MSN:

1G49-11

YOM:

1964

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

12141

Circumstances:

The single engine airplane was completing a flight from Ekimchan to Baladek, carrying one passenger, two pilots and five drums loaded with diesel for a total weight of one ton. Seven minutes and 10 seconds after takeoff from Ekimchan, while flying at an altitude of 720 meters, the engine lost power. The airplane lost height, entered a nose down attitude of 18° then struck a hill. Both pilots were injured and the passenger was killed. The airplane was destroyed by fire.

Probable cause:

The exact cause of the engine failure could not be determined with certainty. However, investigators believe that the fuel pump and a collector probably failed in flight.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R in Ekimchan

Date & Time: Dec 23, 1977

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-02708

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

MSN:

1G124-14

YOM:

1971

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crashed in unknown circumstances near Ekimchan. There were no casualties. It is reported that the total weight of the aircraft was above the MTOW at the time of the accident.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2 near Ekimchan: 5 killed

Date & Time: Aug 18, 1971 at 1850 LT

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-32318

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Zlatoustovsk – Ekimchan

MSN:

1G97-30

YOM:

1968

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

3218

Circumstances:

The single engine airplane departed Zlatoustovsk Airfield at 1840LT on its last leg back to Ekimchan, carrying three passengers and a crew of two. Ten minutes later, weather conditions worsened and while cruising at an altitude of 1,434 meters in cloud, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located 22 km east of Ekimchan. The wreckage was found two days later, 94 meters below the summit and 10 km off course. The aircraft was destroyed and all five occupants have been killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the crew was the crew continued the flight under VFR mode in IMC conditions and failed to see the mountain while flying in clouds. Analysis revealed that the aircraft was off course by 10 kilometers at the time of the accident and that both pilots were intoxicated with an alcohol blood level of 2 ‰ for the captain and 1.34 ‰ for the copilot.