Crash of a Savoia-Marchetti S.55 near Volsk: 3 killed
Date & Time:
Jul 12, 1933 at 1130 LT
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-N11
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Sevastopol – Yeysk – Volsk – Sverdlovsk – Omsk – Novosibirsk – Krasnoyarsk – Irkutsk – Vitim – Yakutsk – Nogaevo – Cape Severny
MSN:
10526
YOM:
1933
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Aircraft flight hours:
12
Aircraft flight cycles:
15
Circumstances:
The seaplane departed Sevastopol on a flight to Cape Severny with several en route stops, carrying one passenger (one journalist from the Komsomolskaya Pravda) and four crew members. On the leg from Yeysk to Volsk, while flying over the Volga River at a speed of 175-200 km/h and at a height of about 10-15 metres, the airplane encountered a cold front, lost altitude and crashed into the river, some 300 metres from the shore. Fishermen were able to rescue two crew members while three other occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The accident was the consequence of the combination of a flight at a too low altitude and a subsequent impact with water due to particular local weather conditions.
