Date & Time:
Aug 12, 1937
Type of aircraft:
Bolkhovitinov DB-A
Operator:
Registration:
URSS-N209
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Private
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Moscow – Fairbanks – Chicago – New York
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
6
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a transpolar flight from Moscow to New York with intermediate stops in Fairbanks and Chicago. While flying probably over the north part of Siberia, maybe over the Arctic Ocean, the aircraft disappeared after all radio communications ceased. Important SAR operations were initiated but were eventually suspended few weeks later as no trace of the aircraft nor the six crew members was found. Among the six aviators was the famous Soviet aviation pioneer Sigismond Levanevsky.
Crew:
Sigismond Levanevsky, captain,
Nikolai Kastanayev, second pilot,
Nikolai Galkovsky, radio operator,
Grigory Pobezhimov, flight engineer,
Nikolai Godovikov, flight engineer,
Viktor Levchenko, navigator.
Crew:
Sigismond Levanevsky, captain,
Nikolai Kastanayev, second pilot,
Nikolai Galkovsky, radio operator,
Grigory Pobezhimov, flight engineer,
Nikolai Godovikov, flight engineer,
Viktor Levchenko, navigator.
Probable cause:
According to Soviet Authorities, weather information transmitted to the crew were inaccurate and did not reflect the truth.
