Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R in Malye Alabukhi

Date & Time: Apr 6, 2000
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
RA-31486
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Saransk – Malye Alabukhi
MSN:
1G198-51
YOM:
1982
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The single engine aircraft departed Saransk on a positioning flight to Malye Alabukhi, carrying two technicians and two pilots who were dispatched in Malye Alabukhi to proceed to crop spraying missions. After touchdown at Malye Alabukhi Airfield, the aircraft was caught by strong crosswinds. It went out of control, veered off runway to the left and eventually collided with a tree. All four occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Loss of control after landing due to strong crosswinds. The crew failed to prepare the flight properly and failed to obtain appropriate information about weather conditions and wind component for Malye Alabukhi Airfield.

Crash of an Antonov AN-24B in Saransk

Date & Time: Dec 29, 1995 at 0025 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
RA-46401
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Tolyatti - Saransk
MSN:
77303903
YOM:
1967
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a night cargo flight from Tolyatti to Saransk. On final approach, while completing a last turn to join the approach path, the left wing tip struck the ground. Out of control, the aircraft crashed few km from the runway threshold. All five crew members were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of an Antonov AN-26B in Saransk

Date & Time: Feb 6, 1986 at 2323 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-26095
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Nizhnevartovsk – Sverdlovsk – Saransk – Gomel
MSN:
27312302
YOM:
1972
Flight number:
SU14454
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Aircraft flight hours:
3088
Aircraft flight cycles:
1301
Circumstances:
The aircraft was completing a cargo flight from Nizhnevartovsk to Gomel with intermediate stops in Sverdlovsk and Saransk, carrying six crew members and a load of 2,100 kilos of various goods. Less than one minute after takeoff from Saransk Airport, while climbing by night at an altitude of 150 meters, the aircraft entered a left turn then lost height and crashed at a speed of 390 km/h (rate of descent of 4,3 meters per second) two km past the runway end. The aircraft was destroyed and all six occupants were injured.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the pilot-in-command misinterpreted red lights on the localizer and inner marker beacon for the anti-collision lights of an approaching aircraft and initiated a left turn to avoid collision when control was lost. No aircraft was approaching Saransk Airport at the time of the accident. It was also determined that the mass and balance was incorrect as the total weight of the cargo was 3,500 kilos instead of 2,100 kilos.