Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2 near Kharat: 13 killed

Date & Time: Sep 1, 1978 at 1307 LT
Type of aircraft:
PZL-Mielec AN-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-32323
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Irkutsk - Kharantsy - Onguren
MSN:
1G97-35
YOM:
1968
Flight number:
SU137B
Location:
Kharat
Irkutsk oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
11
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
13
Aircraft flight hours:
8161
Circumstances:
The single engine airplane departed Irkutsk-Magan Airport at 1236LT on a flight to Onguren with an intermediate stop in Kharantsy. At 1303LT, the crew informed ground about his position, flying at an altitude of 1,500 meters. Four minutes later, while cruising in marginal weather conditions, the airplane pitched down and crashed in a nose down attitude of 75° in a wooded area located 15 km east of the village of Kharat. As the radio contact was lost and the airplane failed to arrive at destination, SAR operations were initiated but the wreckage was found a week later only, on September 8, in a hilly and wooded area, at an altitude of 785 meters. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 13 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined. There were no technical anomalies with the airplane that most probably lost height after being caught by downdrafts coming from a cumulonimbus.

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

Date & Time: Nov 13, 1974 at 0725 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lisunov LI-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-08823
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Ulan-Ude – Krasnoyarsk - Novosibirsk – Omsk – Petropavl – Kurgan – Chelyabinsk – Ufa
MSN:
184 403 07
YOM:
1951
Location:
Kharat
Irkutsk oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
6945
Aircraft flight cycles:
5410
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Ulan-Ude at 0700LT on a cargo flight to Ufa with intermediate stops in Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Petropavl, Kurgan and Chelyabinsk, carrying five crew members, three passengers and a load of 663 kg of various goods. About 20 minutes after takeoff, while cruising at an altitude of 2,400 meters, a passenger announced to the crew that a fire erupted in the rear part of the cabin. Smoke spread in the cabin and the cockpit and as the crew was unable to extinguish the fire, the captain decided to reduce his altitude and attempted an emergency landing in a prairie. The aircraft crash landed and came to rest in flames in an open field located 4 km from the village of Kharat. All eight occupants escaped while the aircraft was partially destroyed by fire. 40 hours later, a female passenger died from her injuries.
Probable cause:
The aircraft was carrying several wooden crates containing bottles of 20 liters of flammable products placed on a carpet of wood chips. It is believed that these boxes had been used many times in the past but had not been cleaned and the wood chips were soaked with flammable products, maybe because some of the bottles were not properly sealed. In flight, the hot air pulsed into the cabin via the heating system caused the wood chips to burn and the fire could not be extinguished by the crew.
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