Simferopol

Shortly after takeoff from Moscow-Zukhovski Airport runway 12, while climbing to an altitude of 750 feet in excellent weather conditions, the airplane collided with a flock of birds (sea gulls). Some of them were ingested by both engines that lost power. It was later reported by the crew that the left engine stopped almost immediately while the right engine lost power and run irregularly. Unable to maintain a positive rate of climb, the captain decided to attempt an emergency landing in a cornfield. The airplane belly landed approximately 3,5 km past the runway end and slid for dozen meters before coming to rest with its both engines partially torn off. All 233 occupants were able to evacuate the cabin and it is reported that 23 people were slightly injured.

The aircraft departed Simferopol on a positioning flight to Skopje, carrying two passengers and six crew members. In Skopje, a load of automobile spare parts should be loaded and the aircraft was then scheduled to continue to Ukraine. A second AN-12 from the same operator approached Skopje few minutes prior to the accident and its crew decided to divert to Sofia Airport due to poor weather conditions (thunderstorm activity and heavy rain falls) at destination. On approach to Skopje, the crew modified his route to avoid the thunderstorm and followed a wrong heading of 230° instead of the planned 163°. Few minutes later, the crew was cleared for an approach to runway 34 and followed heading 140°. At an altitude of 5,200 feet on approach, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Lisec (1,934 metres high) located 26 km south of runway 34 threshold. The wreckage was found at an altitude of 1,600 metres and all 8 occupants were killed.

38 seconds after the crew started the takeoff procedure, at a speed of 230 km/h and after a course of 1,450 meters, a warning sounded in the cockpit, informing the crew about the failure of the right engine. The captain took over control and initiated an emergency braking procedure. Thrust reversers were activated seven second later and the aircraft started to slow down. As the end of the runway was approaching the captain wanted to avoid any collision with the approach lights and ILS system, he veered off runway to the left. While contacting soft ground, the airplane lost its undercarriage then struck a drainage ditch and came to rest, broken in two, about 530 meters from the runway end and about 47 meters to the left of its centerline. Seven passengers were injured while 57 other occupants escaped uninjured. A passenger died from a heart attack.

En route from Simferopol to Yerevan, while cruising at an altitude of 10,200 meters over the city of Gali in Abkhazia, the crew spotted CB's at high altitude but failed to modify his route. The aircraft went into the CB's and encountered severe turbulences. The crew was able to continue the flight within further incident and to land at Yerevan Airport. After being parked on apron, the aircraft was inspected and it was later confirmed that it sustained severe structural damages after it recorded excessive G loads (+3.05/-0.65). There were no casualties but the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair.

Brakes and tires overheated during a pre-takeoff inappropriate taxiing manoeuvre at Kiev-Borispol Airport. During the takeoff roll at Borispol Airport, at a speed of 135 km/h, the crew was instructed to abandon the takeoff as he did not receive any clearance. The crew interrupted the procedure and was later cleared for a second departure. During this manoeuvre, brakes and tires overheated again. Upon touchdown at Simferopol Airport, a tire located on the right main gear exploded. Debris struck the lower part of the right wing and punctured a fuel tank. Fuel spilled and a fire erupted. The crew was able to stop the plane on the runway and all 65 occupants were evacuated, among them 29 passengers were injured. The aircraft was partially destroyed by fire.

En route from Stavropol to Simferopol, while cruising at an altitude of 2,400 meters in icing conditions, the left engine failed, followed 14 seconds later by the failure of the right engine. The crew informed ATC about the situation then lost control of the airplane that entered a dive and eventually crashed in the Sivash gulf, about 24 km southeast of Emelyanovka, Crimea, 10 km offshore. The airplane disintegrated on impact, the wreckage sank and all 26 occupants were killed. Refloat operations were conducted from October 24 till November 18, 1978.

The airplane was completing a flight from Simferopol to Kerch, carrying six members of the Ministry of the Interior. On approach, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with fog, clouds down to 100 meters above the ground and a visibility limited to 500 meters. On final, at a speed of 220 km/h, the pilot-in-command decided to reduced his altitude to establish a visual contact with the ground when the airplane struck a concrete block of a power line. Flying at a height of 17 meters below the runway altitude, the airplane struck a house and crashed in flames some 2,610 meters short of runway. All four crew members and two passengers were killed while five other occupants were killed.

Shortly after takeoff from Moscow-Vnukovo Airport, while climbing by night, the airplane entered a right turn, lost height, banked right 90° then struck power cables and crashed in a field located 10 km south of the airport. The airplane was totally destroyed by impact forces and all 25 occupants were killed.

An engine failed during flight and the crew was cleared to divert to Simferopol Airport for an emergency landing. After touchdown, the airplane overran and came to rest. There were no casualties while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

While cruising at an altitude of 5,400 meters on a flight from Vinnitsa to Simferopol, the crew informed ATC that smoke spread in the cabin and was cleared to divert to Chișinău Airport. Few minutes later, the engine number four caught fire. The crew feathered its propeller when the oil pressure dropped and the propeller left the feather mode. Unable to maintain the prescribed altitude, the captain elected to make an emergency landing. The airplane belly landed in a field located 38 km north of Chișinău Airport and came to rest. The navigator, the radio operator, one flight attendant and 19 passengers were slightly injured while a passenger while killed. All other occupants escaped uninjured. The aircraft was destroyed.