Makhachkala | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The twin engine aircraft departed Moscow-Vnukovo Airport on a positioning flight to Makhatchkala, carrying a crew of three. On approach to Makhatchkala Airport, the crew was unable to lower the gear that remained stuck in their wheel well. Despite several attempts, the crew was unable to lower the gear manually and eventually decided to return to Moscow-Vnukovo for an emergency landing. The aircraft belly landed on a foam covered runway and slid for few dozen metres before coming to rest. All three crew members escaped uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-154M in Moscow: 2 killed

Date & Time: Dec 4, 2010 at 1436 LT

Type of aircraft:

Tupolev TU-154

Operator:

Registration:

RA-85744

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Moscow - Makhatchkala

MSN:

92A-927

YOM:

1992

Flight number:

DAG372

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

160

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

17384

Captain / Total hours on type:

10000.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

3111

Copilot / Total hours on type:

1150

Aircraft flight hours:

9285

Aircraft flight cycles:

2983

Circumstances:

Daghestan Airlines (Avialinii Dagestana) flight DAG372 departed Moscow-Vnukovo Airport at 1408LT bound for Makhatchkala, Daghestan. Fourteen minutes after takeoff, while cruising at an altitude of 9,000 metres some 80 kilometers south of Moscow, the crew informed ATC about the failure of the engines n°1 and 3 and was cleared to return to Moscow-Domodedovo Airport. On final, the aircraft descended below the clouds at a height of 500 feet but was not properly aligned with the runway centerline. It landed hard to the right of runway 32R, went out of control, impacted an earth mound and bushed before coming to rest, broken in two. Two passengers were killed while 78 other occupants were injured.

Probable cause:

Erroneous actions on part of the crew who, while landing in instrument meteorological conditions with one engine running, permitted the aircraft to touch down significantly to the right of the runway.
These actions were the result of following factors:
- The flight engineer inadvertently turned off the fuel booster pumps of the service tank while working the procedures for manual fuel transfer during the climb, which led to fuel starvation, all engines spooling down with the outer engines (#1 and #3) shutting down as well as loss of electrical power for 2:23 minutes due to loss of all three generators
- Failure by the crew to take use of all available possibilities to restore on-board systems after generator #2 was recovered and the APU spooled up and was successfully connected
- Failure to comply with recommendations "flying with two engines inoperative" and "approach and landing with two engines inoperative"
- Lack of leadership and lack of management and distribution of responsibilities by the captain leading to independent but not always accurate actions by the other crew members as result of insufficient training in crew resource management
- A complex wind environment varying with heights which contributed to the deviation from the proper approach trajectory while the crew was flying on stand by instruments rather than regular instruments
- Insufficient training of the crew as a whole as well as each individual to act in emergency and complex scenarios
- The non-implementation of safety recommendations developed in earlier investigations to prevent the flight engineer inadvertently turn off the fuel booster pumps.

Final Report:

Ground collision of two Ilyushin II-76MD in Makhachkala: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jan 15, 2009 at 2110 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-76

Operator:

Registration:

RA-76825

Flight Phase:

Taxiing

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Makhachkala - Nizhny Novgorod

MSN:

10034 04136

YOM:

1990

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft was dispatched to Makhachkala to deliver troops, military equipments and cargo with 7 crew members on board. Ready for the next trip to Nizhny Novgorod, the crew was cleared to taxi to the holding point of runway 14. At that time, the visibility was poor due to the night and foggy conditions. Another Ilyushin II-76MD registered RA-76827 was on approach to runway 14 with 25 passengers and a crew of six on board. On final approach, the navigator informed the crew that the headlights should be switched on but no actions was taken. In a visibility lower than 800 metres, the aircraft landed slightly to the left of the runway centerline. After touchdown, the left wing impacted the cockpit of the II-76 awaiting at the holding bay. While RA-76827 suffered only minor damaged and that no one on board was injured, all four crew members in the cockpit of RA-76825 were killed while three other occupants were injured.

Ground explosion of a Yakovlev Yak-40 in Makhachkala: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 27, 1994 at 0652 LT

Type of aircraft:

Yakovlev Yak-40

Operator:

Registration:

RA-88254

Flight Phase:

Parking

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Ashgabad - Makhachkala - Rostov-on-Don

MSN:

9710952

YOM:

1977

Flight number:

156

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

On October 25, after takeoff from Makhachkala Airport, en route to Rostov, a hijacker entered the cockpit and ordered the crew to return to Makhachkala. He later requested a ransom of 2 millions US$ and asked to be flown to Iran. Within the next two day, all passengers were released and the hijacker remained in the airplane with both pilots. In the morning of October 27, while the hijacker fall asleep, both pilots left the airplane and the police stormed the aircraft. The hijacker was able to detonate a home made explosive device in the cockpit and was killed. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

Explosion of a home made explosive device.

Crash of a Yakovlev Yak-40 in Makhachkala: 51 killed

Date & Time: Nov 7, 1991 at 1350 LT

Type of aircraft:

Yakovlev Yak-40

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-87526

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Elista - Makhachkala

MSN:

9 52 08 41

YOM:

1975

Flight number:

S-519

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The descent to Makhachkala was started in poor weather conditions. While over mountainous terrain, the crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when, at an altitude of 550 metres and at a speed of 366 km/h, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Kukurtbash (980 metres high) located 23 km from the airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 51 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the aircraft was following a wrong approach path to Makhachkala-Uytash Airport following inaccurate ATC instructions. ATC in charge transmitted wrong instructions to the crew, causing the aircraft to be off course and below the minimum prescribed altitude. The crew was unable to see and avoid the mountain due to low clouds in the area and was unaware of his exact position. It was also reported that the crew allowed 47 passengers (39 adults and 8 children) to embark in Elista while 32 seats were available on board. This caused the aircraft to take off with a total weight of 260 kilos above MTOW.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2 in Izberbach: 2 killed

Date & Time: Mar 10, 1982 at 1311 LT

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-44952

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Makhatchkala – Derbent

MSN:

1G25-25

YOM:

1962

Flight number:

SU1525

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

14364

Aircraft flight cycles:

22387

Circumstances:

The single engine airplane departed Makhatchkala at 1259LT on a cargo flight to Derbent with two pilots on board. While cruising along the west coast of the Caspian Sea at an altitude of about 400 meters, the crew encountered limited visibility due to low clouds when the airplane struck the slope of Mt Shcherabash (521 meters high) located near Izberbach. The wreckage was found at an altitude of 390 meters and both occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the accident resulted from the crew's decision to follow an unauthorized route through reduced visibility due to the presence of low clouds.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2T in Golotl

Date & Time: Jul 11, 1978

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-79968

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Golotl - Makhachkala

MSN:

1 172 473 16

YOM:

1962

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Few minutes after takeoff from Golotl, en route to Makhachkala, the engine failed, forcing the pilot to attempt an emergency landing. There were no injuries while the aircraft was written off.

Probable cause:

Engine failure for undetermined reasons.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R near Makhachkala

Date & Time: Feb 5, 1974

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-01579

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Mountains

MSN:

1G81-23

YOM:

1967

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was engaged in a mission on behalf of the Makhachkalinski OAO. While cruising in below minima weather conditions, the single engine airplane struck a hill and crashed near Makhachkala. There were no casualties.

Crash of an Avia 14P off Makhachkala: 17 killed

Date & Time: Dec 10, 1969 at 1833 LT

Type of aircraft:

Avia 14

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-52010

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Makhachkala - Astrakhan

MSN:

023 703 101

YOM:

1957

Flight number:

SU2953

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

20481

Aircraft flight cycles:

18670

Circumstances:

The aircraft departed Makhachkala Airport at 1829LT and climbed over the sea. Less than two minutes later, the crew was cleared to climb to 2,100 meters when the pilot reported to ATC the presence of clouds over the sea that were not mentioned in the weather bulletin transmitted to him prior to the flight. Suddenly, the aircraft nosed down and plunged into the sea about 3,5 km offshore. The wreckage was found in a depth of 10 meters and all 17 occupants have been killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that, at an altitude of 400 meters while climbing, the airplane struck a flock of migratory birds that struck the windshield that broke instantly, killing both pilots. It was reported that many birds were migrating in this region, at any time during this period of the year.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14P off Baku: 33 killed

Date & Time: Apr 23, 1966 at 0803 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-14

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-61772

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Baku – Makhatchkala – Saratov

MSN:

1460 003 10

YOM:

1956

Flight number:

SU2723

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

16257

Circumstances:

Twelve minutes after takeoff, while climbing in stormy weather, both engines started to run intermittently, maybe due to a technical problem with the sparking plugs while in contact with water. In such conditions, the captain decided to return to Baku-Bina Airport but due to poor visibility, he was unable to locate the airfield. Five minutes later, both engines temperature dropped and four minutes later, out of control, the airplane crashed into the sea off Baku. SAR operations were quickly conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the 33 occupants was found. On May 13, 1966, the wreckage was found at a depth of 23 meters some 19 km south of the Nargen Island.

Probable cause:

Investigations were unable to determine with certainty the cause of the engine problems.

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