Region
Asia

Crash of an Antonov AN-24B in Kursk

Date & Time: Nov 4, 1972
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-24
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-46202
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Positioning
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Kuybyshev – Kursk – Moscow
MSN:
6 73 027 01
YOM:
1966
Location:
Kursk
Kursk oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a positioning flight from Kuybyshev to Moscow with an intermediate stop in Kursk. He started the approach by night and snow falls. In poor visibility, the aircraft dropped below the glide and hit tree tops some 2,500 meters before the inner marker. The aircraft stalled and crashed in flames in a wooded area. While the aircraft was destroyed, all three crew members were unhurt.
Probable cause:
Wrong approach configuration on part of the crew.

Crash of an Antonov AN-12BP in Tula: 6 killed

Date & Time: Oct 23, 1972 at 1700 LT
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-12
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Tula - Tula
Location:
Tula
Tula oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The four engine airplane was completing a local training flight at Tula Airport with six crew members on board. On approach in marginal weather conditions, the airplane collided with a second Antonov AN-12BP of the Soviet Air Force (Voyenno-vozdushnye sily CCCP). Inbound from Sestsha Airbase located in Bryansk, the second aircraft was carrying 14 passengers and a crew of six. Following the collision, both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a field located few km from the airport. All 27 occupants in both aircraft were killed.
Probable cause:
It was reported that a radar failed and ATC was unable to determine the exact position of both aircraft. Poor visibility due to marginal weather conditions was considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of an Antonov AN-12BP in Tula: 20 killed

Date & Time: Oct 23, 1972 at 1700 LT
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-12
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Sestcha - Tula
Location:
Tula
Tula oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
14
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
20
Circumstances:
The four engine airplane was completing a flight from Sestsha Airbase located in Bryansk, carrying 14 passengers and a crew of six. On approach to Tula Airport in poor weather conditions, the airplane collided with a second Antonov AN-12BP of the Soviet Air Force (Voyenno-vozdushnye sily CCCP). With six crew members on board, the second aircraft was completing a local training flight in Tula. Following the collision, both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a field located few km from the airport. All 27 occupants in both aircraft were killed.
Probable cause:
It was reported that a radar failed and ATC was unable to determine the exact position of both aircraft. Poor visibility due to marginal weather conditions was considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-62 in Moscow: 174 killed

Date & Time: Oct 13, 1972 at 2149 LT
Type of aircraft:
Ilyushin II-62
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-86671
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Paris - Leningrad - Moscow
MSN:
70301
YOM:
1977
Flight number:
SU217
Location:
Moscow-Sheremetyevo
Moscow oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
164
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
174
Aircraft flight hours:
4374
Aircraft flight cycles:
1674
Circumstances:
The airplane was completing a charter flight from Paris to Moscow with an intermediate stop in Leningrad. It departed Leningrad-Pulkovo Airport at 2059LT bound for Moscow. While descending from the north in marginal weather conditions at an altitude of 600 meters, the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent, nosed down then struck trees and crashed in flames in a wooded area located near Krasnaya Polyana, about 5 km north of Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and debris were found on an area of 550 meters long and 80 meters wide. None of the 174 survived the crash. Among the passengers were 128 Russians, 38 Chileans, six Algerians, one East-German and one Australian. Up to date, this was the worse plane crash in History.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. However, the assumption that the loss of control was the consequence of a technical problem with the elevator control system or the longitudinal control system wass not ruled out.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2P in Chersky

Date & Time: Oct 6, 1972
Type of aircraft:
PZL-Mielec AN-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-70738
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
1G130-39
YOM:
1971
Location:
Chersky
Republic of Yakutia (Sakha)
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed near Chersky following an engine failure. There were no casualties.
Probable cause:
Engine failure.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18V off Sochi: 109 killed

Date & Time: Oct 1, 1972 at 1925 LT
Type of aircraft:
Ilyushin II-18
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-75507
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Sochi - Moscow
MSN:
183 0064 05
YOM:
1963
Flight number:
SU1036
Location:
Sochi-Adler
Krasnodar Krai
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
101
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
109
Aircraft flight hours:
15718
Aircraft flight cycles:
7899
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Sochi-Adler Airport, while climbing by night at an altitude of 200 meters, the airplane initiated a right turn according to departure procedures then made a left turn, entered a dive and crashed into the Black Sea, about 10 km offshore. Some debris and dead bodies were found in the evening while the main wreckage sank by a depth of about 1,000 meters. None of the 109 occupants survived the crash and the wreckage was not recovered.
Probable cause:
Due to lack of evidences, the exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. However, the assumption that the loss of control may have been caused by the failure of an instrument or an in-flight collision with migratory birds was not ruled out.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18V near Magnitogorsk: 102 killed

Date & Time: Aug 31, 1972 at 1019 LT
Type of aircraft:
Ilyushin II-18
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-74298
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Karaganda - Moscow
MSN:
182 0045 05
YOM:
1962
Flight number:
SU558
Location:
Magnitogorsk
Chelyabinsk oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
93
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
102
Aircraft flight hours:
10798
Aircraft flight cycles:
4249
Circumstances:
The four engine airplane departed Karaganda Airport at 0831LT on a schedule service (SU558) to Moscow-Domodedovo. En route, while cruising at an altitude of 7,200 meters, the crew informed ATC about smoke in the cabin and cockpit and request to divert to Magnitogorsk Airport for an emergency landing. During the descent, at a speed of 370 km/h, in a flat attitude, gears and flaps retracted, the airplane struck the ground and crashed in flames in an open field located 23 km north of the airport. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 102 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The cause of the disaster was the intensive development of a fire that broke out in the rear cargo hold, which led to a complete or partial loss of the crew's working capacity, the impossibility of visual flight and observation of instruments due to smoke in the cockpit and the exclusion of the possibility of a successful flight outcome. The most likely cause of the fire was the triggering of pyrotechnic devices, the ignition or self-ignition of flammable materials in the baggage of passengers whose traces were found in the remains of baggage.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R in Perevitskiy Torzhok: 2 killed

Date & Time: Aug 30, 1972 at 0935 LT
Type of aircraft:
PZL-Mielec AN-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-32520
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Spraying (Agricultural)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Perevitskiy Torzhok - Perevitskiy Torzhok
MSN:
1G103-47
YOM:
1969
Location:
Perevitskiy Torzhok
Moscow oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Aircraft flight hours:
3150
Aircraft flight cycles:
15276
Circumstances:
During a crop-spraying flight for the sovkhoz (state farm) of 'Vrachevo Gorki' located in the Lukhovitsy district of the Moscow region, the crew encountered thick smoke coming from burning peatlands. The crew suffered a spatial orientation and the airplane nosed down by a 45 to 60° angle before crashing in flames on a bank of the Oka River, near Perevitskiy Torzhok, some 4 km from the airstrip. The aircraft was destroyed by fire and both pilots were killed. At the time of the accident, horizontal visibility did not exceed 50 meters.
Probable cause:
Loss of control after the crew suffered a spatial disorientation in reduced visibility.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R near Suntar

Date & Time: Aug 30, 1972
Type of aircraft:
PZL-Mielec AN-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-49369
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
1G13-23
YOM:
1962
Location:
Suntar
Republic of Yakutia (Sakha)
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The aircraft was performing a cargo flight, carrying fuel drums. En route, a fire erupted in the cargo compartment, forcing the crew to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft landed near Suntar and all occupants managed to escape while the aircraft was destroyed by fire.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18B in Arkhangelsk

Date & Time: Aug 26, 1972
Type of aircraft:
Ilyushin II-18
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-75663
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
MSN:
188 0007 02
YOM:
1958
Location:
Arkhangelsk-Talagi
Arkhangelsk oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On final approach to Arkhangelsk-Talagi Airport, during the last segment, the four engine airplane went through a local bank of fog. The pilot-in-command lost momentarily visual contact with the ground and the decision to go around was taken too late, causing the aircraft to land hard. After touchdown, the airplane went out of control, veered off runway, contacted obstacles and came to rest. All occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
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