Crash of a Polikarpov PR-5 near Shala Pristan: 1 killed
Date & Time:
Apr 1, 1941 at 0955 LT
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L3311
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Petrozavodsk – Pudozh
MSN:
200
YOM:
1939
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
1390
Circumstances:
The single engine airplane departed Petrozavodsk Airport at 0920LT on a cargo flight to Pudozh, carrying one pilot and a load of 553 kg of various goods. Prior to the flight, the pilot was instructed by the chief pilot that in case of weather deterioration, he should fly around Lake Onega. Weather conditions worsened en route and the visibility was too low when the airplane crashed in a snow covered field located about 9 km south of Shala Pristan. The wreckage was found at the end of the afternoon by another pilot flying from Pudozh to Petrozavodsk. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was killed.
Probable cause:
The accident is the consequence of a controlled flight into terrain after the pilot failed to follow the instruction from the chief pilot regarding weather deterioration. It was also reported that the pilot was relatively inexperienced in flying in poor weather conditions.
