Crash of an Ilyushin II-62 in Moscow

Date & Time: Feb 25, 1965
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-06156
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow – Tashkent – Ashgabat
MSN:
3 00 01
YOM:
1963
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
17
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a test flight from Moscow to Ashgabat with an intermediate stop at Tashkent Airport. The takeoff was attempted with a total weight near the MTOW. After liftoff, the airplane nosed up then lost speed and height. At a height of 4-5 meters, the airplane struck a concrete wall, stalled then crashed in flames. Ten crew members were killed while seven others were injured. The aircraft, first prototype built in 1962, was destroyed. It made its first successful test flight on January 2, 1963.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 in Saratov: 8 killed

Date & Time: Feb 5, 1965 at 1317 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-07914
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Saratov - Krasny Kut
MSN:
1 74 473 19
YOM:
1957
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Aircraft flight hours:
3233
Aircraft flight cycles:
7617
Circumstances:
Shortly after take off from Goretskoye Airport in poor visibility, while at a height of 100-120 meters, the pilot made a first turn to the right then turned to the left five seconds later. Suddenly, the single engine airplane lost height, plunged into the earth and crashed in flames in a snow covered field located 2,100 metres from the airfield. The airplane was destroyed by a post crash fire and all eight occupants, one instructor and 7 cadets, were killed. Probably the pilot had taken off with caged gyro horizon and he lost spatial orientation in whiteout conditions.
Probable cause:
Probable spatial disorientation on part of the pilot-in-command following while taking off in whiteout conditions with a caged gyro.

Crash of An Antonov AN-2 near Ossora: 2 killed

Date & Time: Dec 31, 1964 at 1045 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-98388
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Ossora - Anapka
MSN:
1108 473 03
YOM:
1958
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
8
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Aircraft flight hours:
3509
Circumstances:
On a flight from Ossora along the coastline to Anapka (Ilpyrski), the crew encountered below-minima weather conditions (heavy snowfall combined with poor visibility). The single engine aircraft deviated from the prescribed flight path by 7.5 km due to strong winds and crashed at a height of 500 metres into the slope of a mountain located 11 km northeast of Rybozavod (fish factory) No. 72 in the Ossora district. Two passengers were killed and eight other occupants were injured. Two of the survivors managed to walk to the fish factory within 6 hours of the accident. Others occupants were rescued on January 3, 1965 due to poor weather conditions.
Probable cause:
Information related to weather conditions and transmitted to the crew were inaccurate and failed to reflect the truth. Also, the crew decided to continue the flight into below-minima visibility.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2V near Murmansk: 1 killed

Date & Time: Nov 18, 1964 at 1218 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-09275
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Murmansk - Umba
MSN:
1G23-24
YOM:
1962
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
1963
Circumstances:
The aircraft departed Murmansk-Murmashi Airport on a cargo flight to Umba, carrying a crew of two, 158 kilos of various goods and 855 kilos of mail. Few minutes after takeoff, weather conditions deteriorated and the crew deviated from the prescribed flight path to the right by 3 km . In poor visibility, the single engine airplane struck the slope of a snow covered hill (427 meters high), three meters below the summit, passed on the opposite slope of the hill and came to rest in flames, upside down, some 30 meters below the summit. The wreckage was 20 km south of Murmashi Airport and both crew members were seriously injured. The captain died from his injuries five days later.
Probable cause:
Poor flight preparation on part of the flying crew who failed to follow the prescribed flight path after departure.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 in Nikolayevsk-on-Amur: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 24, 1964 at 1230 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-01231
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur - Okha
MSN:
1 69 473 20
YOM:
1956
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Aircraft flight hours:
6349
Circumstances:
The crew departed Nikolayevsk-on-Amur on a mail flight to Okha. Few minutes after takeoff, he encountered poor weather conditions and the visibility dropped below minima due to snow falls. In such conditions, the crew decided to return to his departure point but lost orientation and failed to realize his altitude was insufficient. While cruising at an altitude of 190 meters in limited visibility, the single engine struck trees and crashed on the wooded slope of a hill (282 metres high) located 4,1 km from the runway's centerline. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and both pilots were killed.
Probable cause:
Poor flight preparation on part of the crew who decided to takeoff without any information related to the weather conditions enroute. Local meteorologists transmitted information to the crew afterwards but these information were considered as too optimistic and failed to reflect the truth.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Cape Khorgo

Date & Time: Oct 13, 1964
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-04370
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Tiksi - Tiksi
MSN:
126 56 05
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew (four crew members and two hydrologists) was involved in an ice reconnaissance mission over the krai of Krasnoyarsk. Following a departure from Tiksi Airport, the crew proceeded to the control of the ice located along the shore of the Laptev Sea then the Yana and Kolyma Indigirka estuaries and eventually the mouth of the Lana River. En route, weather conditions worsened and the visibility dropped due to fog. The captain decided to reduce his altitude and to descend through the clouds when the airplane struck the top of a hill and crash landed 100 meters further and a snow covered ground. All six occupants were slightly injured and later transferred to a hospital in Khatanga while the airplane was damaged beyond repair.
Crew:
A. A. Kas, pilot,
V. K. Koroteev, copilot,
N. M. Arapov, radio operator,
D. Belusov, flight engineer,
Yuri Vladimirovitch Nalimov, hydrologist,
V. Ramenskii, hydrologist.
Probable cause:
The accident was the consequence of a navigation error on part of the crew.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18V near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: 87 killed

Date & Time: Sep 2, 1964 at 2111 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-75531
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Moscow – Krasnoyarsk – Khabarovsk – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
MSN:
180 0024 02
YOM:
1963
Flight number:
SU721
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
84
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
87
Aircraft flight hours:
1269
Aircraft flight cycles:
358
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Khabarovsk, the crew received the permission to descend to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport but was instructed to maintain a minimum altitude of 600 meters. By night, while in a flat attitude but slightly banked to the right, the airplane struck trees, stalled and crashed in a dense wooded area located on Mt Ufa, some 26 km northwest of the airport. Six passengers (three adults and three children) were seriously injured while 87 other occupants, among them all nine crew members, were killed.
Probable cause:
The crew failed to comply with the published procedures and started the descent prematurely, causing the aircraft to approach below the minimum safe altitude. The following factors were considered as contributing:
- Poor flight preparation,
- Lack of visibility,
- Lack of radar availability at destination airport.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R in Elista: 3 killed

Date & Time: Aug 14, 1964 at 1232 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-62730
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Elista - Elista
MSN:
1G33-24
YOM:
1963
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Aircraft flight hours:
1329
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a local training flight at Elista Airport. While flying at an altitude of 200-250 meters, the engine caught fire and the pilot elected to return to Elista for an emergency landing. On final, at a height of some 25-30 meters, fuel vapors exploded and the aircraft crashed in flames 2 km from the airport. All three crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
The engine caught fire and exploded due to poor maintenance on part of the technicians. Investigations revealed that the mechanic in charge of the last maintenance of the aircraft failed to tight properly the fuel tap. Also, his supervisor did not carry out checks and failed to ensure that the work had been carried out according to the procedures.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18V in Magadan

Date & Time: Aug 3, 1964
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-75824
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
182 0049 03
YOM:
1962
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On final approach to Magadan Airport, the four engine aircraft was too low and struck the ground short of runway, causing the undercarriage to be sheared off. The airplane belly landed and slid for dozen yards before coming to rest. There were no injuries but the aircraft was written off.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R in Urtazym: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jul 3, 1964 at 0719 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-09242
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Urtazym - Urtazym
MSN:
1G22-20
YOM:
1962
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
1943
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a crop-spraying mission for the "Zauralny" sovkhoz located in the Kvarkeno district of the Orenburg region. The inexperienced pilots got distracted from piloting by listening to the weather forecast on the radio and writing it down. So the aircraft continually lost height and eventually crashed into a hill located one km southwest of Urtazym. The copilot was injured and the captain was killed.
Probable cause:
The crew was distracted and inexperienced. Also, he failed to prepare the flight according to the published procedures.