Kiev | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

Enroute, one of the crew member opened the right cockpit window and threw away his cigarette that went into the air inlet of a ventilation system. A fire spread quickly and as the crew was unable to extinguish it, the captain decided to reduce his altitude and to attempt an emergency landing. The airplane belly landed in a snow covered field located near Lipovets, slid for few hundred meters and came to rest in flames on the iced Rosava River. Two crew members and one passenger were killed while ten other occupants were injured. The aircraft was written off.

Probable cause:

The aircraft has been subject to technical modifications on part of the Aeroflot technicians few days prior to the accident and converted to a cargo version capable to carry a maximum of 9 passengers. It was reported that several mistakes were done during this conversion, especially concerning the ventilation system air inlet that was installed in a wrong position, just behind the cockpit window instead of lower or higher. Investigations revealed that the fire spread quickly because the insulating material used failed to respond to the requirements and was unimpregnated wadding. The aircraft accumulated 73 flying hours since this conversion.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 in Stalino: 10 killed

Date & Time: Jan 19, 1949 at 1052 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-12

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1381

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Stalino – Kiev – Moscow

MSN:

30 109

YOM:

1947

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

709

Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Stalino Airport, while climbing to a height of 90 meters, the right engine oversped while the left engine lost power. The aircraft stalled, hit an electric pole and crashed in flames onto a house located near the airport. A crew member was seriously injured while all eight other occupants were killed as well as two people in the house. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the right engine oversped due a structural shortcoming of the screw regulator. Regarding the loss of power on the left engine, it was not possible to determine its cause due to the fact that the engine was totally destroyed by fire. An unappropriated reaction of the crew to the double engine dysfunction was considered as a contributory factor.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Orlivka: 16 killed

Date & Time: Dec 7, 1944 at 1515 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lisunov LI-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4161

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Chisinau – Kiev – Moscow

MSN:

184 91 06

YOM:

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

En route from Chisinau to Kiev, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low visibility due to thick fog. In such conditions, and apparently to establish a visual contact with the ground, the captain decided to reduce his altitude when the aircraft hit the slope of a ravine and crashed in a field 460 meters further on. The aircraft was destroyed and all 16 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

Wrong decision on part of the crew to reduce his altitude in thick fog (flying below minima weather conditions). At the time of the accident, visibility was estimated less than 300 meters and the aircraft hit the ground at full power. Investigators considered that the total flying time of the captain during the last three months was insufficient. Finally, information transmitted to the crew regarding weather conditions were inadequate and did not reflect the truth.

Crash of a Douglas DC-3-196A in Mirgorod

Date & Time: Aug 21, 1941 at 2045 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas DC-3

Operator:

Registration:

URSS-H

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Supply

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Moscow - Kharkiv - Kiev

MSN:

2046

YOM:

1938

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Moscow at 1335LT on a flight to Kiev with an intermediate stop in Kharkiv, carrying four crew members and 20 passengers, doctors and link officers. At Kharkiv Airport, some equipment were unloaded then the crew continued to Kiev where the airplane landed at 1915LT. Because it was too dangerous to leave an airplane at Kiev for the overnight, the crew was instructed to continue to Mirgorod. Upon arrival, the pilot was unable to locate the runway due to the lack of visibility (night), the absence of ground light and the fact that the left headlight of the airplane failed about 20 minutes prior to landing. At a height of about 10-15 metres, the pilot saw the masts of antennas and made a sharp turn to the left to avoid the collision when the airplane stalled and crash landed. All 24 occupants evacuated safely while the airplane was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 near Kiev

Date & Time: Jul 18, 1941

Type of aircraft:

Polikarpov P-5

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-F49

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

MSN:

OD47

YOM:

1932

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

While flying at low height, the pilot lost control of the airplane that crashed west of the city. The pilot was injured and the airplane was destroyed.

Crash of a Putilov Stal-3 in Novoarkhangelsk: 3 killed

Date & Time: Sep 1, 1938

Type of aircraft:

Putilov Stal-3

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1260

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Kiev - Odessa

MSN:

260

YOM:

1936

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The single engine airplane departed Kiev on a flight to Odessa, carrying one passenger and two crew members. About an hour and 27 minutes into the flight, while in cruising altitude, the aircraft was approaching an area of storm when the right wing suffered a structural failure and detached. The airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a pasture. All three occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The cause of the crash was an insufficient structural strength of the upper core of the fuselage frame n°3, which caused the frame to collapse under the conditions of flight in a pre-thunderstorm front and the subsequent collapse of the entire aircraft.
The following factors were identified:
- Insufficient strength of some elements of the airplane according to the conditions set by the strength standards of 1937,
- Failure of the design bureau of Plant n°81, which allowed the frame n°3 of the fuselage to have insufficient strength,
- Failure of the weather station at Kiev Airport, which did not indicate thunderstorm phenomena in the weather forecast for the Kiev - Odessa route, as it was according to the weather service sector in reality.

Crash of a Putilov Stal-3 in Brovary: 4 killed

Date & Time: Dec 29, 1937

Type of aircraft:

Putilov Stal-3

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1228

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Test

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Kiev - Kiev

MSN:

228

YOM:

1935

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

1215

Circumstances:

Following a flight from Dniepropetrovsk to Kyiv, the pilot reported technical problems with various instruments such as the horizon and the speed indicator. Several repairs were made and the pilot decided to perform a local test flight. Four engineers and two employees of the airport boarded the plane. After takeoff, at a height of about 100 metres, the pilot completed a series of five turns when the airplane rolled to the right, descended to the ground and crashed near Brovary. Four passengers were killed and three other occupants were injured.

Probable cause:

The accident was the consequence of the following factors:
- The airplane' speed was estimated to be 170 km/h prior to the series of turns then dropped to 110 km/h during the last turn, causing a stall,
- The pilot failed to pay attention to the instruments and probably lost his bearings.