Russia

The airplane departed Moscow Airport at 0900LT on a cargo flight, carrying two crew members and a load of 212 kilos of various goods. Few minutes after takeoff, while cruising at an altitude of about 200-300 metres, the crew encountered vibrations and stability problems. The pilot decided to return to Moscow and initiated a descent. On approach, at a height of 150 metres, the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed. The mechanic was seriously injured and the pilot was killed. Less than an hour later, the mechanic died from his injuries.

En route from Moscow to Feodosia, Crimea, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions. As the visibility was too low, the pilot reduced his altitude to establish a visual contact with the ground when the airplane impacted a tree and crashed. All eight occupants were killed.

The airplane was engaged in a spraying mission in the area of Polyany, carrying one passenger and one pilot. On approach, the pilot completed several turns and the last one was relatively sharp with a 50° bank when the airplane stalled and crashed. The passenger was injured and the pilot was killed.

The crew departed Kazan Airport on a local flight. On short final, at a height of about 30-35 metres, the airplane collided with an Aeroflot Tupolev ANT-9 registered CCCP-L150 that was completing a local test flight. It appears that on final, the Polikarpov was flying above the ANT-9 and cut his track before the collision occurred. The Polikarpov dove into the ground and was destroyed. Both pilots were seriously injured and died two hours later. The Tupolev continued for few seconds before it crashed near the runway, coming to rest broken in two. All 11 occupants were slightly injured.

The three engine airplane departed Kazan on a local test flight, carrying nine passengers and two crew members, one pilot and one mechanic. After a local flight of about 13 minutes, the crew decided to return to the airport. On short final, at a height of about 30-35 metres, the airplane collided with a Polikarpov U-2 registered CCCP-S227. Operated by Osoaviakhima (Kazan Aero Club), the airplane was completing a local flight with two pilots on board. It appears that on final, the Polikarpov was flying above the ANT-9 and cut his track before the collision occurred. The Polikarpov dove into the ground and was destroyed. Both pilots were seriously injured and died two hours later. The Tupolev continued for few seconds before it crashed near the runway, coming to rest broken in two. All 11 occupants were slightly injured.

The airplane departed Balashov on a local training flight, carrying one instructor and one cadet. On approach, at an altitude of about 250 metres, it collided with a second Aeroflot Polikarpov U-2. Registered CCCP-Sh90, this airplane was also completing a local training flight at Balashov with two crew members on board and just took off. Following the collision, both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed near the airfield, killing all four occupants, among them both instructors Butenko and Korovine.

The airplane departed Balashov on a local training flight, carrying one instructor and one cadet. After takeoff, the pilot made a left turn then climbed to the altitude of about 250 metres when the aircraft collided with a second Aeroflot Polikarpov U-2. Registered CCCP-Sh480, this airplane was also completing a local training flight at Balashov with two crew members on board. Following the collision, both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed near the airfield, killing all four occupants, among them both instructors Butenko and Korovine.

The seaplane departed Sevastopol on a flight to Cape Severny with several en route stops, carrying one passenger (one journalist from the Komsomolskaya Pravda) and four crew members. On the leg from Yeysk to Volsk, while flying over the Volga River at a speed of 175-200 km/h and at a height of about 10-15 metres, the airplane encountered a cold front, lost altitude and crashed into the river, some 300 metres from the shore. Fishermen were able to rescue two crew members while three other occupants were killed.

The pilot departed Michurinsk Airport on a local solo training flight. While flying at an altitude of about 700-750 metres, he initiated manoeuvres when control was lost. The airplane dove into the ground and crashed near the airfield. The pilot was killed.

James Joseph Mattern was performing a second attempt to cross all Russia from/to the US via Siberia. En route, he encountered unknown technical problems and was forced to make an emergency landing some 80 km from Anadyr. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and abandoned on site, and the pilot was slightly injured. This Vega was the second one of JJ Mattern and received the same registration NR869E as his first Vega that crashed in Belarus on July 6, 1932. While the first Vega NR869E had the MSN 069, the second NR869E received the MSN 118.