Kazan

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Moscow – Kazan

MSN:

9 301 31 14

YOM:

Flight number:

SU035

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft departed Moscow-Vnukovo at 1911LT and continued under VFR at an altitude of 1,200 meters until Kazan. The crew obtained the permission to descent to Kazan and reduced his altitude to 600 and then 300 meters. During 3 to 4 minutes, the aircraft was flying along the Volga River at an altitude of 300 meters when the crew heard a noise and both engines lost power simultaneously. In the mean time, fire erupted from the exhaust pipe and the crew elected to activate the fire extinguisher system on both engines but without success. The captain reduced his altitude in an attempt to make an emergency landing on the Volga River. The airplane crash landed on the water and eventually came to rest near the bank. 22 occupants were able to evacuate the cabin while a passenger died from drowning. The aircraft sank to a depth of 18 meters.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the aircraft collided, at an altitude of 300 meters, with several ducks. A duck hit the left engine while a second hit the top part of the cockpit, just above the windshield. The impact damaged the upper side of the flight deck and a short-circuit occurred on the magneto switch, causing both engines to stop. The crew elected to feather both propellers but this was not possible because the generator did not provide sufficient power at that time.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 in Kazan: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jan 23, 1953 at 2037 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-12

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1435

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Novosibirsk – Kazan – Moscow

MSN:

30267

YOM:

Flight number:

SU022

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

1288

Circumstances:

The crew was completing the cargo flight SU022 from Novosibirsk to Moscow with an intermediate stop in Kazan, carrying a crew of six and a load of wire coils, electric engines and radio components. Shortly after takeoff from Kazan Airport, while climbing to a height of 150 meters, the aircraft was hit on its empannage by the left engine of an Aeroflot Lisunov LI-2 that was trying to land at Kazan Airport. On a cargo flight from Leningrad to Sverdlovsk with intermediate stops in Moscow-Bykovo Airport and Kazan, the Lisunov LI-2 was registered CCCP-L4582 and was was carrying a crew of five and a load of six brass panels weighing 155 kilos each and a batch of capacitors. Following the collision, both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a snow covered field located three km southwest of the airport. Both aircraft were destroyed and all eleven crew members were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the collision was the result of a series of omissions on part of the ATC based at Kazan Airport who failed to coordinate properly the radar coverage and failed to assist the crew adequately. The ATC in charge of the approach instructed the crew of the Lisunov to descend to 300 meters instead of the 900 meters as mentioned in the approach procedures. Due to poor weather conditions that reduced the visibility below minimas, it would be more appropriate that ATC postponed the departure of the Ilyushin II-12 or instructed the crew of the Lisunov LI-2 to follow a holding circuit or to divert to another airport. It was confirmed that both flying crew did not bear any responsibilities in this tragedy.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Kazan: 5 killed

Date & Time: Jan 23, 1953 at 2037 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4582

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Leningrad – Moscow – Kazan – Sverdlovsk

MSN:

184 304 04

YOM:

1951

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

3705

Circumstances:

The crew was completing a cargo flight from Leningrad to Sverdlovsk with intermediate stops in Moscow-Bykovo Airport and Kazan, with a load of six brass panels weighing 155 kilos each and a batch of capacitors. The descent to Kazan was started by night and poor weather conditions with heavy snow falls, reducing the visibility down to zero. The crew obtained the permission to descent to 1,800, 1,200 and 600 meters and was unable to locate the runway. Guided by ATC, the aircraft descended to the altitude of 150 meters when the aircraft hit with its left engine the empennage of an Aeroflot Ilyushin II-12. Registered CCCP-L1435, this second aircraft was performing the cargo flight number SU022 from Novosibirsk to Moscow with an intermediate stop in Kazan, carrying a crew of six and a load of wire coils, electric engines and radio components. Following the collision, both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a snow covered field located three km southwest of the airport. Both aircraft were destroyed and all eleven crew members were killed.

Probable cause:

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Sverdlovsk: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 11, 1951 at 0340 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4416

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Sochi – Krasnodar – Rostov-on-Don – Voronezh – Penza – Kazan – Sverdlovsk

MSN:

184 285 02

YOM:

Flight number:

SU521

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

4169

Circumstances:

The aircraft departed Kazan Airport at 2250LT in good weather conditions bound for Sverdlovsk-Koltsovo Airport. The crew was cleared to climb to 3,000 meters and later, encountered marginal weather conditions with clouds, icing conditions and light snow. In such conditions, the crew requested permission to reduce his altitude and descended to 1,800 meters in icing conditions. The radio operator tried several times to contact ATC in Koltsovo without success. Unable to locate his position due to low visibility and the failure of the radiocompas, the crew lost his orientation and due to a imminent fuel exhaustion, the captain decided to attempt an emergency belly landing. The airplane hit trees and crashed in a prairie located about 70 km west of Sverdlovsk and was damaged beyond repair. All 10 occupants were wounded and the copilot died from his injuries a day later.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the accident resulted from a loss of orientation on part of the crew leading to an emergency landing attempt due to exhausted fuel reserves. The following factors were considered as contributory:
- weather conditions deteriorated en route with icing conditions that were not reported in the weather forecast bulletin transmitted to the crew prior to departure,
- malfunction or failure of the radiocompas and a communication antenna, probably due to icing conditions,
- negligence on part of the crew who failed to follow the procedures for a radiocompas navigation, failed to perform the appropriate heading and tracking calculations and failed to refer to the direction-finding (ADF) values,
- failure of the air traffic controller who authorized the crew to climb to the altitude of 3,000 meters with the presence of severe icing conditions,
- crew fatigue due to a near 14 consecutive hours duty time,
- a copilot was refused on board before departure due to intoxication and the captain decided to do the flight without him. As a result, the flight was started with a limited crew which was also considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Kazan: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jan 9, 1951 at 2248 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4359

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Lyubertsy – Kazan

MSN:

184 284 06

YOM:

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

3640

Circumstances:

The aircraft left Lyubertsy Airport at 1957LT on a cargo flight to Kazan, carrying five crew members, one passenger and a load of various goods for a total weight of 1,446 kilos. Weather conditions were poor with low visibility and snow falls. The descent to Kazan was started at 2233LT and the pilot in command obtained the permission to reduce his altitude to 1,200 and then 700 meters. While approaching Kazan, the crew encountered clouds and icing conditions when the windshield was covered by ice. At an altitude between 127 and 130 meters, the airplane hit the mast of a radio antenna. On impact, the right wing was sheared off and the aircraft crashed in a field about 250 meters further on. The airplane was destroyed and all six occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the crew decided to continue the approach in marginal weather and icing conditions with an ice covered windshield. Also, the ground assistance provided by ATC was insufficient and the radio antenna hit by the airplane was insufficiently lit. It appears that the 18 meters of the top of the antenna were not equipped with a light and only two lights were fixed on the rest of the mast.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Sverdlovsk: 19 killed

Date & Time: Jun 7, 1950

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

42 red

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Moscow – Kazan – Chelyabinsk

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft was on its way from Moscow to Chelyabinsk, carrying a crew of six and 13 members of the ice hockey team of the VVS Moscow (Ice Hockey Branch of the Army) who should play against the Dzerzhinsky club of Chelyabinsk. Upon arrival in Chelyabinsk, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and as it was not possible to land, the captain decided to divert to Sverdlovsk. Unfortunately, while approaching Sverdlovsk, weather conditions deteriorated and the visibility was poor due to snow falls. Four times, the crew tried to land but was forced to go around. During the fifth attempt to land, the aircraft was too low and crashed in a field few hundred yards short of the runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and all 19 occupants were killed.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 near Savasleyka: 3 killed

Date & Time: Sep 20, 1949 at 0405 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-12

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1462

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Moscow – Kazan – Chelyabinsk – Kostanay – Karaganda

MSN:

8 302 60 4

YOM:

Location:

Savasleyka AFB

Nizhny Novgorod oblast

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

550

Circumstances:

The crew was performing a cargo flight from Moscow to Karaganda with intermediate stops in Kazan, Chelyabinsk and Kostanay, carrying a load of various goods consisting of an industrial furnace (765 kg), theater sets, brass tubes (1,030 kg) and electrical equipment (695 kg). While cruising by night at an altitude of 1,800 meters, the flight engineer spotted some flames coming out from the left engine. The crew made several tests and controls, the captain reduced his altitude to 1,500 meters but eventually decided to continue. About an hour later, while flying at an altitude of 3,000 meters, the left engine failed. In such conditions, the pilot was unable to maintain a safe height and the aircraft descended until it hit some tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located on the top of a hill some 22 km east of Mourom, 12 km north of Savasleyka. Three crew members were killed while a fourth was seriously injured.

Probable cause:

Failure of the left engine caused by the rupture of a flexible set on a hydraulic line, which prevented the engine to be properly lubricated. It was determined that the hose was improperly fixed during a maintenance performed during last April. Lack of visibility caused by night and a wrong decision on part of the crew who decided to continue the flight in such conditions after the first anomaly that occurred an hour prior to the accident remain contributing factors.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Kazan: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 9, 1949 at 0650 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4261

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Schedule:

Sverdlovsk – Kazan – Moscow

MSN:

184 22 401

YOM:

Flight number:

SU038

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

3394

Circumstances:

The crew was performing a cargo flight from Sverdlovsk to Moscow via Kazan with a load consisting of cable reels for a total of 1,085 kilos, a lot of syringes, agricultural machinery and postal mail. Weather conditions were marginal at the time of the accident with ceiling at 200 meters, visibility around 6 km in mist. After takeoff, while in initial climb at a height of 20 meters, the aircraft banked left to an angle of 25-30°. The left wing hit the ground and the aircraft crashed in a snow covered field 424 meters further on. The copilot was seriously injured while three other crew members were killed.

Probable cause:

Both engines lost power after rotation as the carburetors were frosted and the air intakes were blocked by ice. Severe icing conditions prevailed at the time of the accident but these conditions were underestimated by the local meteorologists. Therefore, the information transmitted to the crew did not reflect the truth.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Zlatoust: 6 killed

Date & Time: Dec 30, 1947

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4214

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type: