Mineralnye Vody | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

On the leg from Stalingrad to Mineralnye Vody, while cruising at an altitude of 2,700 meters, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with snow falls. On approach to Mineralnye Vody, the crew obtained the permission to land but the visibility was very low (about 30 meters) with snow falls when the aircraft hit the roof of a farm and crashed 226 meters farther in a snow covered field, about 17 km north of the airport. The captain was killed while seven other occupants were injured.

Probable cause:

The crew was approaching Mineralnye Vody Airport under VFR in IFR conditions.

Crash of a Kalinin K-5 near Kian: 1 killed

Date & Time: Nov 30, 1941 at 1550 LT

Type of aircraft:

Kalinin K-5

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L589

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Mineralnye Vody – Armavir

MSN:

YOM:

1930

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

3976

Circumstances:

In the morning, the pilot was supposed to take off from Mineralnye Vody to Zimovniki but the flight was cancelled due to poor weather conditions en route. At 1500LT, despite he did not received any permission, he took off with four people on a flight to Armavir. Approaching Kian at an altitude of 300 metres, he encountered thick fog. In limited visibility, he decided to return and initiated a turn to the left when, at a speed of 180 km/h, the airplane impacted the ground and crashed some three km south of the Kian Station. The airplane was destroyed and all five occupants were injured, three seriously. Few hours later, one of the passengers died from injuries sustained.

Probable cause:

The pilot's violation of the procedures in initiating a flight without permission and despite poor weather conditions.

Crash of a GVF PS-84 near Stavropol: 4 killed

Date & Time: Nov 23, 1940

Type of aircraft:

GVF PS-84

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L3405

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Rostov-on-Don – Mineralnye Vody

MSN:

84 4

YOM:

1940

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

En route from Rostov-on-Don to Mineralnye Vody, the crew encountered poor visibility due to low clouds. In an attempt to maintain a visual contact with the ground, the pilot reduced his altitude when the airplane impacted the slope of a mountain located near Stavropol. All four occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

Controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of a Polikarpov PR-5 near Mozdok

Date & Time: Feb 2, 1939

Type of aircraft:

Polikarpov PR-5

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L2519

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Grozny – Mineralnye Vody

MSN:

166

YOM:

1938

Location:

Mozdok

Republic of North Ossetia

Country:

Russia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The single engine airplane was engaged in a cargo flight from Grozny to Mineralnye Vody. After takeoff, the pilot realized that the mountains were shrouded in clouds so he modified his route and flew to Gudermes and Mozdok. Approaching Mozdok, he encountered low clouds and decided to return when the airplane collided with a meteo antenna and crashed. The pilot was injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Probable cause:

The accident was the consequence of the following factors:
- Violation of the published procedures on part of the pilot,
- The pilot modified his route,
- The decision of the pilot to return was taken too late.

Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 in Mineralnye Vody: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 30, 1936 at 1520 LT

Type of aircraft:

Polikarpov P-5

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1706

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Mineralnye Vody – Rostov-on-Don

MSN:

9460

YOM:

1935

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

839

Circumstances:

The pilot departed Mineralnye Vody Airport on a cargo flight to Rostov-on-Don. Shortly after takeoff, while climbing to a height of 25 metres, he initiated a turn to the right when the airplane stalled and crashed, bursting into flames. The pilot was killed.

Probable cause:

Investigations were unable to determine the exact cause of the accident. Nevertheless, it is believed that the pilot precipitated the takeoff procedure to allow another plane to depart immediately behind him. It was established that the airplane rolled for a distance of 620 metres only prior to rotation and that its speed during the first turn was insufficient, causing it to stall.

Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 on Mt Kazbek: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jun 22, 1935 at 1520 LT

Type of aircraft:

Polikarpov P-5

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1734

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Mineralnye Vody – Tiflis

MSN:

9502

YOM:

1935

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

184

Aircraft flight cycles:

143

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Mineralnye Vody on a mail flight to Tiflis, Georgia, with two crew members on board. After passing the Krestovy Pass, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. The pilot elected to return to Mineralnye Vody and initiated a turn. Shortly later, he lost his orientation and thinking he already passed the highest mountain, he initiated the descent when the airplane impacted the slope of a mountain part of the Mt Kazbek, about 7 km southeast of the summit (5,047 metres). The wreckage was found at an altitude of 4,000 metres and both crew members were killed.

Probable cause:

Controlled flight into terrain after the pilot got lost while cruising in reduced visibility due to foggy conditions and rain.

Crash of a Kalinin K-4 in Novopavlovsk: 2 killed

Date & Time: Mar 7, 1932 at 1235 LT

Type of aircraft:

Kalinin K-4

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L228

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Kharkiv – Mineralnye Vody – Tbilisi

MSN:

116

YOM:

1929

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

539

Circumstances:

The crew departed Kharkiv to ferry the airplane to its base in Tiflis with an intermediate stop in Mineralnye Vody. After takeoff from Mineralnye Vody Airport, the crew climbed to an altitude of 300-350 metres then continued to the southeast, following the railway track. About 20 minutes into the flight, weather conditions worsened and the visibility was poor due to fog. Rather than returning to Mineralnye Vody, the captain decided to continue and reduced his altitude. He continued vertical to the railway line, sometimes to its left sometimes to its right. Too low, the airplane struck the ground and crashed near the Apollonskaya Station in Novopavlovsk. One mechanic was seriously injured while both other occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The accident was the consequence of the decision of the captain to continue the flight at low altitude in poor visibility due to fog rather than returning to Mineralnye Vody for a safe landing. It was determined that the information transmitted to the crew regarding the weather forecast were not relevant and were thus considered as a contributing factor.