Crash of a Douglas C-47 near Moscow-Vnukovo

Date & Time: Dec 18, 1947
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L997
Flight Type:
Schedule:
Moscow-Vnukovo - Moscow-Vnukovo
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a test flight following modification on the engines by GVF (Grazhdansky Vozdushnyi Flot). The final approach to Vnukovo Airport was completed in low visibility due to foggy conditions, when the aircraft hit a hill and crashed about 10 km northeast of the airport. The occupant fate remains unknown.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12P in Moscow-Vnukovo

Date & Time: Jul 1, 1947 at 0928 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L1317
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow – Kharkiv – Sochi – Tbilisi
MSN:
30 023
YOM:
1947
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Aircraft flight hours:
73
Aircraft flight cycles:
68
Circumstances:
One minute after takeoff, while climbing at a height of some 50 metres, the aircraft banked left to an angle of 30°, lost speed and altitude, then hit tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located 3 km from the airport. Four crew members were killed while a fifth crew and the passenger were seriously injured.
Probable cause:
Failure of the left engine caused by a faulty valve.

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-10-DK in Caucasus: 23 killed

Date & Time: Mar 5, 1947 at 0953 LT
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L952
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Tbilisi – Moscou-Vnoukovo
MSN:
14874/26319
YOM:
14
Flight number:
SU034
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
19
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
23
Aircraft flight hours:
2236
Circumstances:
About an hour and 13 minutes after departure from Tbilisi Airport, the crew decided to modify his route to save time. Few minutes later, while cruising vertical of the Caucasus Mountain Range, the crew encountered poor weather conditions when the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain. SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the 23 occupants was found. The wreckage was found by walkers in an isolated and mountainous area of north Georgia on June 20, 1947.
Probable cause:
Wrong decision on part of the crew to change the itinerary, against all published procedures and navigational rules.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Moscow: 1 killed

Date & Time: Nov 5, 1946 at 1855 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4207
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Vilnius – Moscow
MSN:
184 209 08
YOM:
0
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
22
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
1290
Circumstances:
On approach to Moscow-Vnukovo Airport, the crew was instructed to stack over the area due to poor weather conditions. Four times, the pilot attempted to land, but was forced to make a go around. After 75 minutes, the pilot informed ATC he was short of fuel and was assisted because one of the radio-compass was out of service. On final approach, both engines failed simultaneously and the aircraft stalled and crashed few hundred yards short of runway. A passenger was killed while all other occupants were rescued. The aircraft was written off. Most of the passenger were flying to Moscow to take part in celebrations of the October Revolution.
Probable cause:
Double engine failure caused by fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-5-DK in Moscow: 13 killed

Date & Time: Nov 5, 1946 at 1830 LT
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L946
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Berlin – Riga – Moscow
MSN:
14572/26017
YOM:
16
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
22
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
13
Aircraft flight hours:
1675
Circumstances:
On approach to Moscow, the crew was instructed to stack over the airport due to poor weather conditions. More than two hours later, the crew informed ATC that he was short of fuel and received the permission to attempt to land. On final approach, by low visibility due to foggy conditions, the captain was unable to locate the runway and decided to make a go around. The airplane climbed to a height of 15 meters and then stalled and crashed in a wooded area located 700 meters short of runway threshold. Thirteen passengers were killed while 13 other occupants were injured. Most of the passenger were flying to Moscow to take part in celebrations of the October Revolution.

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

Date & Time: Nov 5, 1946 at 1807 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4181
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Achkhabad – Voronezh – Moscow
MSN:
184 200 06
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
1517
Circumstances:
The flight from Voronezh to Moscow-Vnukovo was cancelled due to poor weather in Voronezh. Eventually, the crew left Voronezh two days later on a ferry flight to Moscow. On approach, weather conditions were poor and the crew was forced to stack over the area. More than two hours later, the crew informed ATC that he was short of fuel and requested an immediate landing when the aircraft crashed in Yamshchina, about 12 km northwest of Vnukovo Airfield. All five crew members were killed. At the time of the accident, 17 other aircraft were stacking in the area and awaiting for weather improvement to land in Vnukovo Airport.
Probable cause:
Fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-20-DK in Bakovka: 5 killed

Date & Time: Mar 22, 1946 at 1209 LT
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L893
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Moscow – Minsk – Berlin
MSN:
13096
YOM:
23
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
1581
Circumstances:
About five minutes after takeoff from Moscow-Vnukovo Airport, while climbing to a height of some 150 meters, the aircraft banked left, dove into the ground and crashed 800 meters south of Bukovka. All five crew members were killed. They were performing a cargo flight to Berlin with an intermediate stop in Minsk, carrying a load of newspapers for a total weight of 2,350 kilos.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. However, investigators reported that the loss of control may have been caused by an excessive accumulation of ice on the carburetors or on the Pitot tubes or on the windshield or on all three simultaneously.

Crash of a GVF PS-84 in Minsk

Date & Time: Feb 20, 1946
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4162
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Minsk – Moscow
MSN:
184 09 10
YOM:
1941
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Aircraft flight hours:
2513
Circumstances:
After a takeoff run of about 950 meters, the aircraft lifted off at Minsk-1 Airport. During the initial climb, at a speed of 125 km/h, the aircraft went out of control, stalled and crashed onto a ruin located near the airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all five crew members were injured. They were completing a cargo flight to Vnukovo with a load of 1,492 kilos consisting of various goods.
Probable cause:
Lack of coordination by the flying crew during the takeoff procedure and poor crew resources management were considered as the cause of the accident.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-5-DK in Moscow: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 31, 1946
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L854
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow-Bykovo - Moscow-Vnukovo
MSN:
12253
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a positioning flight from Bykovo to Vnukovo. Fifteen minutes into the flight, the left engine failed and the crew was unable to feather the propeller. Due to high drag, the captain decided to divert to Sukovo Airport but the undercarriage could not be locked. While trying to make a go around, the right engine overheated, the aircraft stalled and crashed in a wooded area located near the airport. Two crew members were slightly injured while three others were killed.
Probable cause:
Engine failure.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Netrubezh: 22 killed

Date & Time: Jan 14, 1946 at 1135 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4150
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Kharkiv – Moscow-Vnukovo
MSN:
184 200 01
YOM:
0
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
17
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
22
Aircraft flight hours:
635
Circumstances:
While cruising at an altitude of some 400-600 meters, the aircraft suffered from severe icing. This resulting in a buffeting of the tail and led a part of the left stabilizer to brake off, one hour and 17 minutes into the flight. Consequently, the aircraft entered a spin and the crew tried a recovery manoeuvre at a height of some 150-200 meters when the aircraft broke apart and crashed in Netrubezh, some 75 km northeast of Kursk. All 22 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Severe icing conditions caused a part of the left stabilizer to detach in flight.