Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 near Kabansk: 14 killed

Date & Time: Aug 25, 1949 at 0514 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L1844
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Alma Ata – Krasnoyarsk – Irkutsk – Chita
MSN:
9 301 35 14
YOM:
27
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
9
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
14
Aircraft flight hours:
92
Circumstances:
On the left from Irkutsk to Chita, while cruising by night at an assigned altitude of 3,000 meters, the crew encountered icing conditions and received the permission to reduce his altitude to 2,400 meters. Few minutes later, at 0512LT, the crew contacted ATC but was asked to standby because the frequency and the ATC was busy. Two minutes later, while an altitude of 1,400 meters, the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed 150 meters further in a wooded area located on the slope of the Kabanya Mountain (1,479 meters high). The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 14 occupants were killed, among them probably some members of the self-proclaimed government of the East Turkestan Republic.
Probable cause:
No technical issue or findings were found with the aircraft or its equipment, instruments or components. Investigations were unable to determine the reason why the crew was flying at the altitude of 1,400 meters, below the assigned flight level. In such conditions, it was considered that the accident was caused by a controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 in Polukotelnikovo: 8 killed

Date & Time: Aug 20, 1949 at 1730 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L1434
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Tbilisi – Kharkiv – Moscow
MSN:
30 266
YOM:
26
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
6
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Aircraft flight hours:
553
Circumstances:
The crew departed Kharkiv Airport in the afternoon bound to the north at an assigned altitude of 1,200 meters. While arriving in the region of Belgorod, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls and turbulences. The crew modified his route several times to avoid the cloud and the thunderstorm activity and the captain decided to reduce his altitude to 400 meters to fly below the cloud layer. After 45 minutes, the aircraft encountered heavy turbulences, went to a nose down attitude and eventually crashed at a speed of 360 km/h in a field. Three crew members and five passengers were killed while three other occupants were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
Loss of control due to heavy turbulences encountered in thunderstorm activity. It was reported that all informations transmitted to the crew from the meteorological services were unsuitable and did not reflect the truth. There was a lack of organisation by the meteorological services and lack of seriousness in the weather prediction.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Naberezhnye Chelny: 2 killed

Date & Time: Aug 1, 1949
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4354
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Leningrad – Yanaul – Kazan – Leningrad
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
En route, the left engine failed. As this engine model was not equipped with a propeller feathering system, the airplane suffered high drag and the crew was unable to maintain a safe altitude. The aircraft lost height, hit tree tops and eventually crashed in a wooded area. Six occupants were injured while both pilots were killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the crew failed to follow the en route procedures and failed to switch the fuel selector on the appropriate tank. The left engine stopped because the fuel selector was connected to an empty tank, and the crew failed to switch the selector on a tank where there was sufficient fuel remaining.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 near Marga: 13 killed

Date & Time: Jul 21, 1949 at 1135 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L1714
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow – Krasnoyarsk – Irkutsk – Khabarovsk
MSN:
8 301 28 11
YOM:
28
Flight number:
SU005
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
8
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
13
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a flight from Moscow to Khabarovsk with intermediate stops in Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk with a load consisting of 2,204 kilos of various goods and 115 kilos of mail. En route to Irkutsk, at an altitude of 3,000 meters, the left engine caught fire. The crew was able to extinguish the fire but the captain decided to divert to Nizhneudinsk Airport for a safe landing. As the crew was unable to maintain a safe altitude, the passengers jettisoned the mail bags. While at a height of some 40-60 meters with only the right engine running, the aircraft hit the tops of several larches, stalled and crashed in flames in a grain field located 5 km southeast of the Sheberta rail station, northeast of Marga. One crew member was injured while 13 other occupants were killed. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
The fire on the left engine was the consequence of the failure of the piston #12 that broke in flight as a result of the defect of the upper part of the rod. Following this, the bolt broke and the fuel leaked into the engine and ignited while in contact with high temperature elements. It was reported that the piston failure was due to a bore default during the construction. Also, experts blamed the crew who did not take the decision to land immediately rather than trying to reach Nizhneudinsk Airport that was situated 60 kilometers from their position.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 in Novosibirsk: 25 killed

Date & Time: May 13, 1949 at 1410 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L1791
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Moscow – Omsk – Novosibirsk – Krasnoyarsk
MSN:
93013208
YOM:
1949
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
20
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
25
Aircraft flight hours:
51
Circumstances:
While descending to Novosibirsk Airport, the crew encountered bad weather conditions with thunderstorm activity, low clouds, poor visibility, hail and turbulences. On approach, lightning hit the cockpit. The copilot and the flight engineer were seriously injured and lost consciousness. The copilot fell onto the control column and the captain tried to maintain a directional control. Shortly later, the aircraft banked right to 65° and then dove into the ground and crashed in flames in a field located 12 km from the airport. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 25 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The loss of control on approach was caused by adverse weather conditions resulting from a violent storm consisting of hail and turbulences. Investigations revealed that lightning struck the cockpit and that two crew members were seriously injured and lost consciousness, making it difficult to continue the flight. Investigators blamed the pilots who started the approach in such weather conditions but nevertheless hold that they were not properly briefed by meteorologists. It was concluded that the crash was the combination of the following factors: unexpected weather conditions, wrong decisions on part of the flying crew, poor management on part of the flight control service, lack of communication between the different departments involved and difficulties with radio contacts.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Kirensk: 14 killed

Date & Time: Apr 29, 1949 at 1220 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4464
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Yakutsk – Kirensk
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
18
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
14
Circumstances:
While cruising at an altitude of 1,300 meters in poor weather conditions, the crew started the descent to Kirensk despite the fact that he was unaware of his real position. While descending into clouds, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located 117 km east of Kirensk. The wreckage was found few hours later and ten survivors (three crew members and seven passengers) were evacuated while 14 other occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
It appears that the aircraft was off track by 70 km to the southeast at the time of the accident due to a navigational error on part of the crew. It was reported that this navigational error was caused by poor piloting methods on part of the crew who decided to start the descent to Kirensk without knowing his exact position. The lack of visibility due to clouds was considered as a contributory factor.

Crash of a Junkers JU.52/3m in Beloyarsk: 1 killed

Date & Time: Feb 7, 1949 at 1042 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-I511
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Verkhnyaya Salda – Oufa
MSN:
7658
YOM:
1942
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
3325
Circumstances:
The crew left Verknyaya Salda in the morning on a cargo flight to Ufa. En route, he encountered poor weather conditions and the visibility was reduced by snow falls. As the crew did not have the appropriate charts for the region, he obtained the assistance of the ATC and was vectored to Tyumen Airport. Few minutes later, while cruising at an assigned altitude of 2,100 meters, the central engine lost power and failed. Shortly later, both other engines (left and right) lost power and produced black smoke. In such conditions, the crew was unable to maintain a safe altitude and the captain decided to make an emergency landing. The aircraft hit tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located 14 km north of Mezenka. Four crew members were injured while the captain was killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that all three engines lost power and eventually failed due to an excessive accumulation of wet snow in the carburetor and the air intake.

Crash of a Junkers JU.52/3m in Russia

Date & Time: Feb 3, 1949
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L54
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Chita – Krasnoyarsk
MSN:
7335
YOM:
1941
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
En route from Chita to Krasnoyarsk, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy snow falls. Maybe the crew elected to make an emergency landing when the three engine aircraft hit the slope of a mountain and crashed somewhere between these two cities. While both pilots (among them captain A. F. Bazanov) were uninjured, the aircraft was written off.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Nijnyaya Pyocha: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 29, 1949 at 1415 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4991
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Arkhangelsk – Mezen – Nijnyaya Pyocha – Arkhangelsk
MSN:
43 09
YOM:
23
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Aircraft flight hours:
757
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff, while climbing to a height of 15-20 meters in strong crosswinds, the aircraft adopted a nose up attitude and stalled. It crashed 75 meters past the runway end and came to rest. Three crew members were killed while the radio operator was seriously injured. The crew was completing a cargo flight from Nijnyaya Pyocha to Arkhangelsk with a load of deer carcasses for a total of two tons.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the cargo was incorrectly loaded and unsecured. After rotation, the cargo shifted rearward, causing the center of gravity to move outside of the enveloppe and causing the aircraft to adopt a high angle of attack (high nose up attitude) and to stall. Strong crosswinds (up to 60 km/h) and a rushed departure on behalf of the crew were considered as contributory factors.

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

Date & Time: Jan 9, 1949 at 0650 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4261
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Sverdlovsk – Kazan – Moscow
MSN:
184 22 401
YOM:
28
Flight number:
SU038
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Aircraft flight hours:
3394
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a cargo flight from Sverdlovsk to Moscow via Kazan with a load consisting of cable reels for a total of 1,085 kilos, a lot of syringes, agricultural machinery and postal mail. Weather conditions were marginal at the time of the accident with ceiling at 200 meters, visibility around 6 km in mist. After takeoff, while in initial climb at a height of 20 meters, the aircraft banked left to an angle of 25-30°. The left wing hit the ground and the aircraft crashed in a snow covered field 424 meters further on. The copilot was seriously injured while three other crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
Both engines lost power after rotation as the carburetors were frosted and the air intakes were blocked by ice. Severe icing conditions prevailed at the time of the accident but these conditions were underestimated by the local meteorologists. Therefore, the information transmitted to the crew did not reflect the truth.