Region
Asia

Crash of an Antonov AN-24RV on Mt Apshara: 38 killed

Date & Time: Nov 17, 1975 at 2214 LT
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-24
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-46467
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Tbilisi - Batumi - Sukhumi - Krasnodar
MSN:
27307905
YOM:
1972
Flight number:
SU6274
Location:
Mt Apshara
Abkhazia
Country:
Georgia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
33
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
38
Aircraft flight hours:
7335
Aircraft flight cycles:
6878
Circumstances:
En route from Batumi to Sukhumi, weather conditions worsened and the crew was cleared to modify his route to avoid the low pressure are to the north. Few minutes later, the crew was cleared to descend to 2,400 meters. While cruising at a speed of 410 km/h in limited visibility due to the night and marginal weather conditions, the airplane struck the south slope of Mt Apshara (2,580 meters high) located about 26 km northeast of Gali, Abkhazia. The wreckage was found few hours later and all 38 occupants have been killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the accident was the consequence of a series of negligences and wrong decisions on part of ATC who cleared the crew to descent to an unsafe altitude of 2,400 meters while the minimum safe altitude for the area was 3,600 meters. This was made possible by several errors in the track calculation after the crew has been cleared to avoid the low pressure area but his position was 25 km too far from the prescribed flight path at that moment. The crew failed to take the appropriate measures to know his proper position which was considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of a Yakovlev Yak-40 in Batumi: 40 killed

Date & Time: Jul 15, 1975 at 1234 LT
Type of aircraft:
Yakovlev Yak-40
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-87475
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Yerevan - Batumi
MSN:
9 44 20 37
YOM:
1974
Flight number:
SU015E
Location:
Batumi
Adjara
Country:
Georgia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
35
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
40
Aircraft flight hours:
1244
Aircraft flight cycles:
1151
Circumstances:
While completing a visual approach to Batumi Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and initiated a go around procedure. The pilot-in-command completed a first turn to the right, flew for about 1,5 km then made a turn to the left. While cruising at an altitude of 550 meters at a speed of about 300-350 km/h in a flaps and gear down configuration, the airplane struck the slope of Mt Mtirala (595 meters high) located 15 km from the airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 40 occupants have been killed.
Probable cause:
ATC failed to inform the crew about the real weather conditions at Batumi Airport and the crew initiated a go around procedure in marginal weather conditions with a visibility reduced to 3 km instead of the 5 km as mentioned by ATC. In such conditions, the crew was unable to distinguish the mountain, resulting in a controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2T in Mestia

Date & Time: May 19, 1975
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-07960
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
MSN:
1 83 473 11
YOM:
1957
Location:
Mestia
Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
Country:
Georgia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On takeoff, the single engine aircraft was caught by downdrafts and crashed. There were no casualties but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Caught by downdrafts at liftoff.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 near Kutaisi

Date & Time: Apr 16, 1974
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-33085
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Mountains
MSN:
1140 473 15
YOM:
1960
Location:
Kutaisi
Imereti
Country:
Georgia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
While flying over the mountainous terrain near Kutaisi, the single engine aircraft was caught by a downdraft, lost height and crashed. There were no casualties.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2TP off Cape Tsikhisdziri: 1 killed

Date & Time: Sep 9, 1966 at 1003 LT
Type of aircraft:
PZL-Mielec AN-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-96224
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Batumi - Poti - Sukhumi
MSN:
1G72-08
YOM:
1966
Flight number:
G-72
Location:
Tsikhisdziri Cape
Adjara
Country:
Georgia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
10
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
327
Circumstances:
The aircraft was performing a flight from Batumi to Sukhumi with an intermediate stop at Poti. Ten minutes after take off from Batumi Airport, while cruising at a height of 250 meters some two km offshore, the engine failed. The crew decided to ditch the aircraft into the Black Sea near a fishing vessel some 1,8 km off Cape Tsikhisdziri. A passenger was killed while all 11 other occupants were rescued and picked up by the crew of the fishing vessel. The aircraft sank and the wreckage was recovered from a depth of some 34-36 meters on 14SEP1966.
Probable cause:
Engine failure due to problems with the magnetos.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14P in Surami: 7 killed

Date & Time: Nov 28, 1964 at 0741 LT
Type of aircraft:
Ilyushin II-14
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-41883
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Tbilisi – Kutaisi
MSN:
1460 007 08
YOM:
1956
Flight number:
SU051F
Location:
Surami
Shida Kartli
Country:
Georgia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
11
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Aircraft flight hours:
14861
Circumstances:
The aircraft departed Tbilisi Airport at 0655LT bound for Kutaisi on flight SU051F. The crew was cleared to climb to 2,700 meters and while approaching the region of Surami, he encountered poor weather conditions with snow falls and a visibility reduced to 50-500 meters. Following successives errors on part of ATC based in Kutaisi, the crew was cleared to descend from 2,700 to 2,100, 1,500 and then to 1,200 meters successively. In zero visibility, the twin engine aircraft struck the slope of a snow covered mountain located near Surami. The wreckage was found a day later at the altitude of 980 meters. Three crew members and four passengers were killed while eight other people were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed but there was no fire.
Probable cause:
It was determined the accident was the consequence of the following factors:
- ATC at Tbilisi transferred the flight to ATC at Kutaisi without assuring the exact position of the aircraft,
- At the time of the accident, the airplane was too late on track and 37 km behind schedule due to strong headwinds (120 km/h instead of 70 km/h),
- Inappropriate information regarding the wind component and speed were transmitted to the crew,
- ATC at Kutaisi misinterpreted aircraft and transmitted instructions to the wrong crew, causing the aircraft to descend prematurely.

Crash of an Avia 14P near Kutaisi: 32 killed

Date & Time: Aug 24, 1963 at 1053 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avia 14
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-61617
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Tbilisi – Kutaisi – Sukhumi – Krasnodar
MSN:
014 602 107
YOM:
1957
Flight number:
SU663
Location:
Kutaisi
Imereti
Country:
Georgia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
27
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
32
Aircraft flight hours:
11682
Circumstances:
After takeoff from Kutaisi, the crew decided to continue under VFR rules despite a limited visibility due to heavy rain falls. In such conditions, the crew did not realize he deviated about 13 km from the prescribed departure route and was cruising at an insufficient altitude. Eight minutes after its departure, while cruising at an altitude of 900 meters, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located 7 km north of Gereshkori, about 32 km northwest of Kutaisi. The wreckage was found a day later and all 32 occupants were killed, among them three stowaways.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the crew decided to continue under VFR mode in IMC conditions. At the time of the accident, weather and visibility were poor. The lack of ATC assistance and inaccurate weather information transmitted to the crew were considered as contributing factors.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 near Kutaisi: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jun 20, 1962 at 1852 LT
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-32619
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Ferry
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Tsagueri – Kutaisi
MSN:
1 104 473 03
YOM:
26
Location:
Kutaisi
Imereti
Country:
Georgia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Aircraft flight hours:
6904
Circumstances:
All passengers disembarked at Tsagueri Airport and the crew departed Tsagueri at 1839LT on a ferry flight back to Kutaisi. Weather conditions worsened en route and while approaching the mountain at an altitude of 850 meters, the crew encountered clouds. The airplane struck tree tops and crashed in flames in a wooded area located on a mountain, some 24 km north of Kutaisi. The aircraft was destroyed and both crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the crew started the descent prematurely and that he was not properly assisted by ATC who did not provide adequate information according to weather conditions. In fact, the accident is the consequence of a control flight into terrain.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14P in Tkvarcheli: 31 killed

Date & Time: Jun 10, 1960 at 1055 LT
Type of aircraft:
Ilyushin II-14
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-91571
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Rostov-on-Don – Krasnodar – Sochi – Sukhumi – Kutaisi – Tbilisi
MSN:
7 34 31 07
YOM:
7
Flight number:
SU207
Location:
Tkvarcheli
Abkhazia
Country:
Georgia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
24
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
31
Aircraft flight hours:
5423
Circumstances:
After his departure from Sukhumi Airport, the crew continued to the southeast bound for Kutaisi at an altitude of 1,200 meters when poor weather conditions were encountered with clouds from 600 to 1,000 meters. Following a navigation error, the aircraft deviated 17 km to the north when it struck trees and crashed in flames on the north slope of Mt Rech (1,436 meters high) located near Tkvarcheli. The wreckage was found a day later. The airplane was completely destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 31 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the accident was the consequence of a navigation error on part of the crew, causing the aircraft to be off track by 17 km to the north. The following factors were considered as contributing:
- The crew was hastily fixed the day prior to the accident on a complexe routing,
- In spite of this complexity, the operations of the company failed to join a navigator to the crew, either a mechanic,
- Poor flight preparation,
- Poor weather assessment,
- The crew failed to make fix point after his departure from Sukhumi,
- Absence of radio monitoring on part of the Sukhumi services,
- Meteorologists failed to inform the pilots about the wind component and the weather conditions along the route,
- Shortcomings were noted with ATC services as the person in charge to follow the plane was a trainee who was not authorized to work independently. It was noted that for 20 minutes (a period corresponding to a distance of 100 km), the crew did not receive any ATC messages about his position or flight path.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14P off Sukhumi: 6 killed

Date & Time: Apr 22, 1956 at 2050 LT
Type of aircraft:
Ilyushin II-14
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L1718
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Moscow-Vnukovo – Kharkiv – Rostov-on-Don – Sukhumi – Kutaisi – Tbilisi
MSN:
1460 002 02
YOM:
14
Flight number:
SU227
Location:
Sukhumi-Babushara
Abkhazia
Country:
Georgia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Aircraft flight hours:
19
Aircraft flight cycles:
12
Circumstances:
Less than one minute after takeoff from Sukhumi Airport by night, while climbing to a height of 60 meters, the aircraft adopted a pitch-down attitude and eventually crashed into the sea about 3 km off shore. The airplane sank by 15 meters deep and all six occupants were killed. The aircraft was carrying a load of 2,117 kilos of mail.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be established with certainty. However, the assumption the pilot could be blinded by a beam was not ruled out.
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