Date & Time:
Sep 9, 1976 at 1351 LT
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-24
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-46518
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Gomel - Donetsk - Sotchi
MSN:
37308504
YOM:
1973
Flight number:
SU7957
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
47
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
6107
Aircraft flight cycles:
4626
Circumstances:
The aircraft was completing the second leg from its Gomel - Donetsk - Sochi flight in limited visibility due to cloudy conditions when, at an altitude of 5,700 metres, it collided with an Aeroflot Yakovlev Yak-40. Registered CCCP-87772, the Yak was flying from Rostov-on-Don to Kerch with 18 people on board. Following the collision, both aircraft entered a dive and crashed into the Black Sea about 37 km south of Anapa. Both aircraft sank by a depth of about 500 metres and none of the 70 occupants survived the crash.
Probable cause:
The in-flight collision was the consequence of mistakes committed by the air traffic controller in charge of the western sector of the Krasnodar area who violated the published procedures and failed to provide the minimum separation of 600 meters required for both aircraft prior to transfer them to the Anapa sector. The lack of visibility due to significant cloud cover was considered as a contributing factor, as well as poor ATC coordination between various sectors.
