Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Enken: 5 killed
Date & Time:
May 5, 1960 at 1614 LT
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-84609
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur – Okhotsk – Magadan
MSN:
60 02
YOM:
1949
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
10291
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a positioning flight from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur to Magadan with an intermediate stop at Okhotsk. En route, pilots encountered poor weather conditions with turbulences and heavy icing conditions. The airplane lost altitude and eventually dove into the ground before crashing in flames at an altitude of 900 meters on the slope of Mt Dzhugdzhur (1,207 meters high) located in the region of Enken. The burned wreckage was found five days later and all five crew members were killed. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were bad with low visibility, snow falls, severe icing conditions, turbulences, wind from 140° at 100 km/h and an OAT of -18°.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the loss of control was caused by an excessive accumulation of ice on wings, stabs and tail combined to the extreme poor weather conditions. It was considered that the informations transmitted to the crew related to weather were incomplete and did not reflect the truth. Also, ATC assistance was considered as inefficient.
