Russia

Landing (descent or approach)

Schedule:

Tula - Berlin

Location:

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Circumstances:

On landing at Tula Airport, an Aeroflot's airplane went out of control, veered off runway and collided with the Soviet Air Force aircraft that was holding for takeoff to Berlin. Both aircraft exploded and all 70 occupants on both aircraft were killed, 36 on board Aeroflot and 34 on board the Soviet Air Force airplane, among them 30 Army cadets. The exact circumstances of this ground collision remains unclear.

Crash of an airplane in Tula: 36 killed

Date & Time: Mar 26, 1952

Type of aircraft:

Unknown

Operator:

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Odessa – Toula – Moscow

Location:

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Circumstances:

On landing at Tula Airport, the Aeroflot's airplane went out of control, veered off runway and collided with a Soviet Air Force aircraft that was holding for takeoff to Berlin. Both aircraft exploded and all 70 occupants on both aircraft were killed, 36 on board Aeroflot and 34 on board the Soviet Air Force airplane, among them 30 Army cadets. The exact circumstances of this ground collision remains unclear.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Stalingrad: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 9, 1952 at 0222 LT

Type of aircraft:

Landing (descent or approach)

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4315

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Moscow – Voronezh – Stalingrad – Baku

MSN:

184 274 10

YOM:

Flight number:

SU203

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

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Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

4736

Circumstances:

The crew was performing a cargo flight from Moscow to Baku with intermediate stops in Voronezh and Stalingrad, carrying a load of 1,793 kilos of various goods consisting of 517 kilos of brass sheets and mail. The approach to Stalingrad Airport was completed by night and marginal weather conditions. On final, while at a height of about 250 meters some 2,300 meters short of runway, the aircraft lost altitude and then stalled and crashed in a snow covered field, about 60 meters to the right of the center line. The aircraft broke in two and the radio operator was seriously injured while three other occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the young copilot was seated on the left seat while the captain was seated on the right seat at the time of the accident, which was against all regulations and company procedures as the captain did not have sufficient experience to complete a night approach in such configuration. Investigations revealed that the stall was caused by an insufficient approach speed due to an inadequate approach configuration on part of the crew who failed to monitor their instruments properly, especially the speed indicator. The following factors were considered as contributory:
- Lack of coordination during final approach,
- Negligence,
- Lack of discipline,
- Wrong approach configuration,
- Poor flight preparation.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Namtsev: 20 killed

Date & Time: Dec 27, 1951 at 0426 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4228

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Republic of Yakutia (Sakha)

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Yakutsk – Vilyuisk

MSN:

18421601

YOM:

1945

Location:

Namtsev

Country:

Russia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

4429

Circumstances:

On a flight from Yakutsk to Vilyuisk when the crew selected fuel supply from the left rear tank but forgot to switch to another tank when the left rear tank ran empty. Both engines stopped 31 minutes into the flight so the crew tried to make an emergency landing in the valley of the river Taras located near Namtsev, about 90 km north of Yakutsk. Unfortunately, the crew set the propellers on high pitch and lowered the landing gear too early so the aircraft did not make it to the valley, stalled and crashed into a wooded area some 200 meters from an open area. All 20 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

Engine failure caused by a fuel exhaustion due to poor management of the fuel supply system on part of the crew. The following factors were considered as contributory:
- Poor flight organization,
- Poor crew coordination,
- Several wrong decisions were taken by the flying crew during flight.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 in Novosibirsk: 23 killed

Date & Time: Nov 17, 1951 at 1623 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-12

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1775

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Novosibirsk – Moscow

MSN:

9 301 31 12

YOM:

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

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Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

2007

Circumstances:

Due to the arrival of additional passengers coming from Yakutsk, a second flight was organized from Novosibirsk to Moscow. Snow falls all day and about 15 mm of ice accumulated on all aircraft. During taxiing, an additional layer of 8 to 10 mm of snow accumulated on the airplane. The takeoff run was considered as normal and after rotation, the airplane climbed to a height of about 100 meters and then stalled and crashed in a huge explosion about 900 meters past the runway end. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 23 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the aircraft was covered by ice and snow and that the following areas were polluted and contaminated by ice and snow: leading edges, trailing edges, ailerons, wings, fuselage, tail and stabs. In such conditions, the aircraft was unable to climb in a safely manner. The following findings were pointed out:
- The crew neglected some procedures referring to the flight preparation,
- The crew failed to check the aircraft prior to departure and failed to provide an appropriate deicing procedure,
- Poor flight preparation and organisation,
- Poor weather conditions,
- Lack of appropriate measures taken to clean the aircraft before takeoff.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Sverdlovsk: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 11, 1951 at 0340 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4416

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Sochi – Krasnodar – Rostov-on-Don – Voronezh – Penza – Kazan – Sverdlovsk

MSN:

184 285 02

YOM:

Flight number:

SU521

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

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Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

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Aircraft flight hours:

4169

Circumstances:

The aircraft departed Kazan Airport at 2250LT in good weather conditions bound for Sverdlovsk-Koltsovo Airport. The crew was cleared to climb to 3,000 meters and later, encountered marginal weather conditions with clouds, icing conditions and light snow. In such conditions, the crew requested permission to reduce his altitude and descended to 1,800 meters in icing conditions. The radio operator tried several times to contact ATC in Koltsovo without success. Unable to locate his position due to low visibility and the failure of the radiocompas, the crew lost his orientation and due to a imminent fuel exhaustion, the captain decided to attempt an emergency belly landing. The airplane hit trees and crashed in a prairie located about 70 km west of Sverdlovsk and was damaged beyond repair. All 10 occupants were wounded and the copilot died from his injuries a day later.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the accident resulted from a loss of orientation on part of the crew leading to an emergency landing attempt due to exhausted fuel reserves. The following factors were considered as contributory:
- weather conditions deteriorated en route with icing conditions that were not reported in the weather forecast bulletin transmitted to the crew prior to departure,
- malfunction or failure of the radiocompas and a communication antenna, probably due to icing conditions,
- negligence on part of the crew who failed to follow the procedures for a radiocompas navigation, failed to perform the appropriate heading and tracking calculations and failed to refer to the direction-finding (ADF) values,
- failure of the air traffic controller who authorized the crew to climb to the altitude of 3,000 meters with the presence of severe icing conditions,
- crew fatigue due to a near 14 consecutive hours duty time,
- a copilot was refused on board before departure due to intoxication and the captain decided to do the flight without him. As a result, the flight was started with a limited crew which was also considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 on Mt Hor-Taiga: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 6, 1951 at 0950 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-G389

Flight Phase:

Geographical / Geophysical / Scientific

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

MSN:

1 13 473 05

YOM:

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

144

Circumstances:

The crew was engaged in a geophysical survey flight in the Republic of Tuva on behalf of the Russian Ministry of Geology (Ministerstvo Geologii – MinGeo). While cruising in marginal weather conditions, the single engine aircraft hit with its right main gear the top of Mt Hor-Taiga (2,618 meters high) and crashed into a ravine. The flight engineer was killed while four other occupants were injured. Two of them walked away to find help and came back a day later to evacuate the other survivors. The navigator died from his injuries 16 hours later. The aircraft, brand new, was destroyed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the accident was caused by a poor flight preparation on part of the crew and the combination of the following factors:
- lack of crew training that failed to guarantee a sufficient flight safety level,
- lack of pilot experience in conducting geophysical survey flights,
- incomplet meteorological informations for mountainous terrain,
- absence of a flight manual and procedures regarding aerial photography missions,
- overconfidence on part of the navigator who had more than five years experience in this type of mission,
- deterioration of weather conditions during flight.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Serkovo: 6 killed

Date & Time: Oct 1, 1951 at 0931 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4775

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors: