Date & Time:
Aug 8, 1970 at 2052 LT
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-10
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-11188
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Vinnitsa - Simferopol
MSN:
0 4 020 05
YOM:
1960
Flight number:
SU888
Country:
Moldova
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
107
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
1
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
13868
Aircraft flight cycles:
9670
Circumstances:
While cruising at an altitude of 5,400 meters on a flight from Vinnitsa to Simferopol, the crew informed ATC that smoke spread in the cabin and was cleared to divert to Chișinău Airport. Few minutes later, the engine number four caught fire. The crew feathered its propeller when the oil pressure dropped and the propeller left the feather mode. Unable to maintain the prescribed altitude, the captain elected to make an emergency landing. The airplane belly landed in a field located 38 km north of Chișinău Airport and came to rest. The navigator, the radio operator, one flight attendant and 19 passengers were slightly injured while a passenger while killed. All other occupants escaped uninjured. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
Failure of an hydraulic line in the engine number four during flight, causing the oil to spill and to catch fire. Poor engine maintenance.
