Russia

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4467

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Kirensk – Ust-Kut – Mama – Kirensk

MSN:

4002

YOM:

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

2667

Circumstances:

The crew was performing a cargo flight to Mama, carrying a load of fish. While descending to a height of 1,500 meters, the crew received the permission to complete the final approach visually when the airplane hit tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located 18 km north of the airport. All eight crew members were killed. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were marginal with low clouds, snow falls, turbulences and icing conditions.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the visibility was insufficient at the time of the accident and the pilot in command descended too low without any visual contact with the obstacles. Ground assistance on part of the ATC was not efficient, which was considered as a contributory factor.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12P in Moscow: 3 killed

Date & Time: Mar 29, 1951 at 2057 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-12

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1313

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Test

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Moscow - Moscow

MSN:

30019

YOM:

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

1278

Circumstances:

The airplane left Moscow-Vnukovo at 1535LT for a local test flight, carrying eight crew members, pilots and engineers. After departure, the crew lost his orientation due to poor weather conditions. At this time, the ceiling was about 100 meters with an horizontal visibility estimated between 2 and 4 km. Despite the situation, the crew continued the flight and flew over the capital city for few hours, completing the test program. Weather conditions worsened during the flight, the visibility dropped to 400 meters with fog and rain. On a night approach to runway 24, the aircraft was misaligned and the pilot in command decided to make a go around. Few minutes later, while on a second approach to land, the aircraft was too low and hit trees located 1,275 meters short of runway 24, stalled and crashed. The aircraft was destroyed and all eight occupants were seriously injured. The captain, the copilot and the flight engineer died from their injuries few hours later.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the crew took the decision to carry a test flight while the weather conditions were below minima. Also, a direction finder was out of service when the crew started the flight, which contributed to the loss of orientation after takeoff. The following factors were considered as contributory:
- violation of the operator procedures on part of the flying crew,
- lack of discipline on part of the flying crew,
- poor weather conditions (below minima),
- overconfidence and arrogance on part of the captain,
- violation of the published navigation rules.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Iskra: 12 killed

Date & Time: Mar 25, 1951 at 0442 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4790

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Irkutsk – Chita – Yakutsk

MSN:

184 341 04

YOM:

Flight number:

SU451

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

1026

Circumstances:

The aircraft left Irkutsk Airport at 0431LT in poor weather conditions with an horizontal visibility of 2 km in snow falls, low cloud base, turbulences and icing conditions. After its departure, the airplane failed to follow the prescribed flight path and few minutes later, at an altitude of 1,500 meters, the right engine caught fire. The crew decided to feather the propeller and to return to the airport. Approximately 10 to 15 seconds later, while losing altitude, the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed inverted in a wooded area located 4 km north of the village of Iskra, about 20 km east of Irkutsk. As the aircraft failed to arrive at destination, SAR operations were conducted and the wreckage was found in an isolated area 10 days later, on April 4. A passenger was found seriously injured while 12 other occupants were killed. The aircraft was destroyed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the third cylinder of the right engine failed in flight, causing the engine to catch fire. With one engine inoperative and flying in icing conditions and turbulences, the aircraft was unable to maintain height, hit trees and crashed. The board determined that the following factors were considered as contributory:
- lack of visibility due to poor weather,
- icing conditions and turbulences,
- poor maintenance of the right engine regarding the 50 hours periodic inspection procedure,
- poor quality of the third cylinder,
- improper adjustment of the exhaust valve,
- the pilot-in-command voluntarily modified the crew prior to take-off and requested the presence of a copilot who was not licensed to fly a Lisunov LI-2 but only a Polikarpov PO-2,
- because of his inexperience on this type of aircraft, the copilot was unable to assist the captain in a complexe flight situation,
- the crew was tired and intoxicated after consuming alcohols prior to takeoff.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Sovietskaya Gavan: 2 killed

Date & Time: Feb 1, 1951

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

4803

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

Sovietskaya Gavan-Znamenskoye

Schedule:

Znamenskoye - Znamenskoye

MSN:

48 03

YOM:

1948

Location:

Khabarovsk Krai

Country:

Russia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was engaged in a local training flight. Shortly after takeoff from the Znamenskoye airbase in Sovietskaïa Gavan, while climbing, the pilot in command made a turn to the right to 15-20° to avoid a mountain on its left. Shortly later, while at a height of 340 meters, he completed a 90° turn to the left when the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located on the southwestern slope of the Mt Kekurnaya. Both pilots were killed while all four other crew members were injured. The aircraft was totally destroyed.
Crew:
Maj Nikitin Mikhail Zuev, pilot,
Cpt Alexei Ivanovich, copilot,
Grigory Mikhaïlovitch Kuznetsov, navigator,
Zagidulin Fatkulbayan,
Hakimovich Popov,
Fedor Ivanovitch,
Grigoryi Evhen.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Kazan: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jan 9, 1951 at 2248 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4359

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Schedule:

Lyubertsy – Kazan

MSN:

184 284 06

YOM:

Location:

Kazan

Republic of Tatarstan

Country:

Russia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

3640

Circumstances:

The aircraft left Lyubertsy Airport at 1957LT on a cargo flight to Kazan, carrying five crew members, one passenger and a load of various goods for a total weight of 1,446 kilos. Weather conditions were poor with low visibility and snow falls. The descent to Kazan was started at 2233LT and the pilot in command obtained the permission to reduce his altitude to 1,200 and then 700 meters. While approaching Kazan, the crew encountered clouds and icing conditions when the windshield was covered by ice. At an altitude between 127 and 130 meters, the airplane hit the mast of a radio antenna. On impact, the right wing was sheared off and the aircraft crashed in a field about 250 meters further on. The airplane was destroyed and all six occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the crew decided to continue the approach in marginal weather and icing conditions with an ice covered windshield. Also, the ground assistance provided by ATC was insufficient and the radio antenna hit by the airplane was insufficiently lit. It appears that the 18 meters of the top of the antenna were not equipped with a light and only two lights were fixed on the rest of the mast.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 off Tuapse: 8 killed

Date & Time: Jan 9, 1951 at 1532 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-12

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1811

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Moscow – Krasnodar – Sochi

MSN:

9 301 33 10

YOM:

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

1346

Circumstances:

The aircraft left Krasnodar Airport at 1505LT bound for Sochi, carrying six crew members, two passengers and a load of mail for a total of 1,007 kilos. Twenty-one minutes later, the crew obtained the permission to descend visually to 1,800 meters and then 600 meters. While cruising at an altitude of 900 meters off Tuapse, the aircraft went into clouds when it was struck by lightning. Out of control, it dove into the Black Sea and crashed about two km off the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs' rest house located in Tuapse. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and sank by a depth of 55 meters. Some debris were found 3 to 4 weeks later, nobody survived.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the aircraft was struck by lightning while flying in an area with thunderstorm activity. Lightning struck the left rear fuel tank and an explosion occurred while contacting fuel vapors. For unknown reason, the crew has not been informed about the presence of thunderstorm and lightning in the region of Tuapse.

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-45-DK in Turukhansk: 2 killed

Date & Time: Nov 9, 1950 at 1623 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1098

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Douglas A-20 Havoc/DB-7 Boston

Schedule:

Krasnoyarsk – Turukhansk – Dudinka

MSN:

16974/34235

YOM:

1945

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

3858

Circumstances:

While approaching Dudinka Airport, the visibility was below minima and the crew decided to return to Turukhansk Airport. The approach was performed in severe icing conditions. On final, when the landing gear were lowered, the aircraft stalled and crashed in a field located 2 km short of runway. Two passengers were killed while all ten other occupants were rescued.

Probable cause:

It appears that the final approach was completed in severe icing conditions and that the approach speed was insufficient, which caused the aircraft to stall when the undercarriages were lowered.

Crash of a Douglas A-20J Havoc in Novosibirsk: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 23, 1950 at 0915 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-F283

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Topographic

Survivors:

Site: