Crash of a Tupolev TU-104B in Irkoutsk: 33 killed

Date & Time: Jul 13, 1963 at 0506 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-42492
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Beijing– Irkotsk – Omsk – Moscow
MSN:
0 2 16 05
YOM:
26
Flight number:
SU012
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
30
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
33
Aircraft flight hours:
2497
Aircraft flight cycles:
1138
Circumstances:
On final approach to Irkustk-Intl Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and a visibility below minima. The airplane lost height and struck approach lights located 2,450 meters short of runway 29 threshold. It then struck a hill, flew on a distance of 570 meters and eventually crashed in flames 1,880 meters short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and two passengers were rescued while 33 other occupants were killed, among them the spouse of the Ambassador of Albania in China.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the sudden loss of altitude on final approach was the consequence of an excessive accumulation of water in the Pitot tubes, which resulted in the modification of several instrument settings and caused the aircraft to adopt an approach configuration not in accordance with the published procedures. It was reported that weather information related to Irkutsk Airport and transmitted to the crew were inaccurate and failed to reflect the truth. Also, the person in charge of the weather forecast bulletin at departure airport failed to double check the information and transmitted inaccurate data. At the time of the accident, the weather conditions at Irkutsk airport were poor and the visibility was below minima. Despite this situation, ATC at Irkutsk-Magan Airport cleared the crew to land and failed to instruct him to divert to another airport.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2 in Balakhta: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jun 23, 1963 at 0848 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-09154
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Balakhta - Balakhta
MSN:
1G19-27
YOM:
8
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Aircraft flight hours:
860
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a herbicides spraying mission on cultures located in the region of Balakhta. The evening and the night prior to the accident, both pilots drank about five bottles of vodka with three ladies and failed to sleep at their hotel. At 0450LT, they arrived at the aircraft and completed 11 rotations without problems. A pause was made to refill and in forty minutes, they drank three other bottles of vodka before taking off again at 0825LT for a 12th rotation. While flying at an altitude of 100 meters, the airplane's speed decreased and it stalled before crashing in a field located 7 km west of Balakhta. Both pilots and both passengers were killed.
Probable cause:
The aircraft stalled at low height due to an insufficient speed. The consumption of alcohol and the fact that the crew was intoxicated was a contributing factor.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 in Pryutovo: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jun 14, 1963 at 1707 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-15986
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Pryutovo - Pryutovo
MSN:
1152 473 03
YOM:
2
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Aircraft flight hours:
1714
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in spraying mission on behalf of a local sovkhoz located between the villages of Pryutovo and Aksakovo. The night preceding the accident, the crew failed to take a sufficient rest time. Few crop spraying flights were performed in the morning and during the lunch break, the crew drunk a lot of vodka with local farmers and started new rotations in the afternoon with illegal passengers on board. While flying at a height of about 10 to 15 meters, the aircraft banked left to an angle of 50° and crashed in a field. The captain and a passenger were killed while seven other occupants were seriously injured.
Probable cause:
Loss of control in flight caused by an intoxicated crew whose capacities were reduced by alcohol consumption. The crew decided to embark seven farmers for a local tour which was considered as non compliant.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-104B in Leningrad

Date & Time: May 18, 1963
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-42483
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
0 2 15 01
YOM:
1960
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On final approach, the aircraft stalled and crashed 1,5 km short of runway threshold. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the stall was caused by an insufficient approach speed due to poor interaction on part of the flying crew.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18V near Urakhcha: 67 killed

Date & Time: Apr 4, 1963 at 0430 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-75866
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Moscow – Krasnoyarsk
MSN:
183 0059 01
YOM:
1963
Flight number:
SU025
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
59
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
67
Aircraft flight hours:
154
Aircraft flight cycles:
68
Circumstances:
While cruising at an altitude of 7,500 meters, the engine number four failed. Unable to determine which of the right engine failed, the crew shot down both engines and feathered both propellers. Control was lost and the airplane banked right and entered a dive. The aircraft reached a rate of descent of 1,800 meters per minute (30 meters per second). The ailerons were sheared off and after passing through the last cloud layer at an altitude of 200 meters, the crew elected to regain control but the airplane struck the ground at a speed of 650 km/h and crashed in a snow covered field located 3,5 km southeast of Urakhcha. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and debris were found on 250 meters width and 800 meters long. Both right engines were found 600 meters away from the point of impact and elements of the ailerons were found some 12 km from the crash site. It was determined that both right engines were not running at impact while both left engines were turning at full power. The accident was not survivable.
Probable cause:
Failure of the pitch control mechanism on the engine number four, which caused severe drag and a loss of control.

Crash of an Antonov AN-12 in Magadan

Date & Time: Apr 2, 1963
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-11338
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
2 4 005 04
YOM:
1962
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
During the takeoff roll on a snow covered runway, the aircraft went out of control, veered off runway to the right and collided with a snow bank before coming to rest, broken in two. All occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was written off.
Probable cause:
It is believed the accident was the consequence of a poor takeoff preparation on part of the crew who misaligned the aircraft on the runway and adopted poor takeoff techniques.

Crash of a Myasishchev 3M near Ust'-Maya: 8 killed

Date & Time: Mar 8, 1963
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
On a training flight at night in formation with another Myasishchev 3M when the trailing aircraft left its position in the formation so that both aircraft collided at a height of some 11,600 metres. Out of control, the dove into the ground and crashed in the vicinity of the river Kuoluma and the rivulets Bary-Bala and Ulakhan-Chagary, near Ust'-Maya, Yakutia. 10 of the 16 crew members on board of both aircraft were killed while 6 managed to eject in time.

Crash of a Myasishchev 3M near Ust’-Maya: 2 killed

Date & Time: Mar 8, 1963
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
On a training flight at night in formation with another Myasishchev 3M when the trailing aircraft left its position in the formation so that both aircraft collided at a height of some 11,600 metres. Out of control, the dove into the ground and crashed in the vicinity of the river Kuoluma and the rivulets Bary-Bala and Ulakhan-Chagary, near Ust'-Maya, Yakutia. 10 of the 16 crew members on board of both aircraft were killed while 6 managed to eject in time.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18V into the Shelikov Gulf: 10 killed

Date & Time: Feb 26, 1963 at 0855 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-75732
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Mys Schmidta – Anadyr – Magadan
MSN:
181 0026 01
YOM:
1960
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
10
Aircraft flight hours:
2105
Circumstances:
The crew departed Mys Schmidta (Cape Schmidt) with 14,5 tons of fuel to Anadyr. Following an uneventful flight, a load of 10 tons of meat was loaded in Anadyr and the crew left Anadyr Airport at 0625LT bound for Magadan. One hour and twenty minutes into the flight, while cruising at an altitude of 7,000 meters, the radio operator informed ATC that the engine number two failed. The captain started an emergency descent and reach the altitude of 3,000 meters five minutes later when the engine number one failed as well. In such conditions, the crew elected to make an emergency landing on the icy Shelikov Gulf. The airplane belly landed on the ice and slid for several yards before coming to rest 2,700 meters off the coast. It went through the ice and sank. The wreckage and the crew was found six days later, on March 4 at 0830LT. The aircraft was lost and all ten occupants died from hypothermia (OAT -18° C and icy water).
Probable cause:
It was determined that a hot air line located near the engine number two broke in flight. The hot air caused the melting of electrical components and the development of a fire in the engine number two nacelle, followed by the rupture of a fuel hose. Unfortunately, the aircraft was not equipped with life jackets, signaling equipment or warm clothing.

Crash of an Antonov AN-10A in Syktyvkar: 7 killed

Date & Time: Feb 8, 1963 at 1737 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-11193
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Syktyvkar - Syktyvkar
MSN:
0 4 021 04
YOM:
30
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Aircraft flight hours:
2156
Aircraft flight cycles:
1158
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a check flight at Syktyvkar Airport. During the final approach completed by night, the engines number 1, 2 & 3 flamed out in clouds and icing conditions. The crew was unable to feather the propeller that went in auto-rotation. Due to drag, the aircraft lost speed and height, banked left to an angle of 90°, struck tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located in Verkhnyaya Maksakovka, 10,2 km east of the Syktyvkar Airport. All 7 crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
The engine flame out was probably caused by the air intake iced up. The crew inexperience and the poor efficiency of the air-intake heating system were considered as contributing factors.