Russia

About a minute after a night takeoff from Irkutsk-Intl Airport, while climbing to a height of 100-120 meters, the captain sent a brief message saying a plane was facing him. He made an immediate sharp turn to the right when he lost control of the airplane that dove into the ground and crashed 2,5 km from the runway end and 500 meters to the right of its extended centerline. Four crew members (the captain, the copilot, the flight mechanic and the radio operator) were killed while all 24 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

For unknown reason, the crew hurried the departure from Bagdarin to Romanovka. The aircraft was carrying eight passengers, two pilots, 300 kilos of cargo and 68 kg of mail. The captain asked the copilot to precipitate the takeoff procedure. So as soon as all eight passengers boarded, the crew started the engine, completed the taxi and joined the runway. After a takeoff run of 110 meters, the copilot started the rotation. The aircraft climbed to a height of one meter, continued for about 30 meters and banked left, hit the ground and crashed. Both pilots and one passenger were killed while seven other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

At 06:15 local time, the RB-50G 'Little Red Ass', temporarily attached to the 91st SRS, was intercepted by two MiG-15 of the 88 GvIAP in 42°38'3"N, 132°20'9"E at 20,000 feet over the Sea of Japan after it had violated the Soviet air space near Cape Gamov. What happened next is disputed, according to Soviet reports the fighter pilots instructed the aircraft to land but the gunners opened fire and hit the MiG flown by 1st Lt. Aleksandr D. Rybakov, who subsequently attacked the RB-50 together with his wingman 1st Lt. Yuri M. Yablonskiy and shot it down with cannon fire. US reports claim that the interceptors opened fire first, disabling the #1 engine and the gunners then only returned fire in self-defense, but could not prevent another attack that set #4 engine on fire. The RB-50 went in a sharp dive, but parts of the damaged right wing and tail assembly tore off and the aircraft disintegrated and crashed into the sea about two minutes after being fired upon. At least seven crew members succeeded in bailing out, but only the copilot was rescued after 22 hours by the US destroyer USS Picking (DD 685) from a liferaft that had been dropped for him by a SB-29 about 12 hours after the crash. The destroyer also recovered the body of the pilot who had died of injuries and exposure and the body of a flight engineer was later located on the coast of Japan, while the remaining 13 were reported missing in action. It was suspected that at least some of them were taken prisoner by Soviet PT boats observed to be operating in the area, but it is not known if this was actually the case.
Crew:
Cpt Stanley Keith O'Kelley, pilot,
Cpt John Ernst Roche, copilot,
Cpt John Cyrus Ward,
Maj Francisco Joseph Tejeda,
1st Lt Frank Ernest Beyer,
1st Lt Edmund Joseph, navigator,
1st Lt James Gordon Keith, navigator,
1st Lt Lloyd Clayton Wiggins, navigator,
1st Lt Warren John Sanderson,
1st Lt Robert Elbon Stalnaker,
M/Sgt Francis Luther Brown, flight engineer,
S/Sgt Donald Wayne Gabree,
S/Sgt Donald George Hill,
A1c Roland Edgar Goulet,
A2c Earl Wilbur Radelin Jr.,
A2c Charles Joseph Russall,
A2c James Edwin Woods, tail gunner.
Source:
http://documents.blackvault.com/documents/dod/readingroom/11/384.pdf

Shortly after takeoff from Zyrianka Airport, while climbing to a height of about 20 meters, the left engine encountered problems and the crew tried to feather the propeller, without success. In such conditions, the pilot-in-command decided to attempt an emergency landing. At a speed of 140 km/h, the airplane hit trees and crashed in a wooded area located 600 meters past the runway end. The airplane was damaged beyond repair while all 16 occupants were rescued.

The single engine aircraft left Milkovo Airport at 1235LT on a back trip to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with eight passengers and a crew of three on board. The crew continued the flight under VFR at an altitude estimated between 1,200 and 1,300 meters. About an hour into the flight, weather conditions deteriorated with low clouds and rain falls when the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located about 18 km northwest of Koryak. As the airplane failed to arrive in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport, SAR operations were conducted and the wreckage was found three days later in an isolated area. All 11 occupants have been killed.

The aircraft left Krasnoyarsk Airport at 1755LT bound for Novosibirsk with an assigned altitude of 2,100 meters. At 1840LT, a second Lisunov LI-2T registered CCCP-A4031 left Novosibirsk Airport bound for Kemerovo with a crew of seven who were involved in an aerial photography mission. While approaching Kemerovo, the captain of the first LI-2 modified his route and flight level without prior permission and passed north of Kemerovo. In excellent weather conditions, while cruising at an altitude of 1,800 meters to a heading of 270° and facing the sun, the first LI-2 was hit on its right wing and right engine by the second LI-2 that was flying from the opposite. Following the collision, both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a wooded area located 16,5 km west of Barzas. Debris were found on a greater distance than 600 meters and all 27 occupants on both aircraft were killed.

A first Lisunov LI-2 left Krasnoyarsk Airport at 1755LT bound for Novosibirsk with an assigned altitude of 2,100 meters. At 1840LT, a second Lisunov LI-2T registered CCCP-A4031 left Novosibirsk Airport bound for Kemerovo with a crew of seven who were involved in an aerial photography mission. While approaching Kemerovo, the captain of the first LI-2 modified his route and flight level without prior permission and passed north of Kemerovo. In excellent weather conditions, while cruising at an altitude of 1,800 meters to a heading of 270° and facing the sun, the first LI-2 was hit on its right wing and right engine by the second LI-2 that was flying from the opposite. Following the collision, both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a wooded area located 16,5 km west of Barzas. Debris were found on a greater distance than 600 meters and all 27 occupants on both aircraft were killed.

The crew was completing the 17th test flight on this prototype. In flight, an engine separated from its mount and fell off. The bomber went out of control and into a dive. Nine crew members were able to bail out before the aircraft crashed in a field located in Noguinsk, about 50 km east of Moscow. Three crew members were killed.

The aircraft departed Moscow-Vnukovo at 1911LT and continued under VFR at an altitude of 1,200 meters until Kazan. The crew obtained the permission to descent to Kazan and reduced his altitude to 600 and then 300 meters. During 3 to 4 minutes, the aircraft was flying along the Volga River at an altitude of 300 meters when the crew heard a noise and both engines lost power simultaneously. In the mean time, fire erupted from the exhaust pipe and the crew elected to activate the fire extinguisher system on both engines but without success. The captain reduced his altitude in an attempt to make an emergency landing on the Volga River. The airplane crash landed on the water and eventually came to rest near the bank. 22 occupants were able to evacuate the cabin while a passenger died from drowning. The aircraft sank to a depth of 18 meters.

The crew was completing the cargo flight SU022 from Novosibirsk to Moscow with an intermediate stop in Kazan, carrying a crew of six and a load of wire coils, electric engines and radio components. Shortly after takeoff from Kazan Airport, while climbing to a height of 150 meters, the aircraft was hit on its empannage by the left engine of an Aeroflot Lisunov LI-2 that was trying to land at Kazan Airport. On a cargo flight from Leningrad to Sverdlovsk with intermediate stops in Moscow-Bykovo Airport and Kazan, the Lisunov LI-2 was registered CCCP-L4582 and was was carrying a crew of five and a load of six brass panels weighing 155 kilos each and a batch of capacitors. Following the collision, both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a snow covered field located three km southwest of the airport. Both aircraft were destroyed and all eleven crew members were killed.