Date & Time: Jan 18, 1959 at 0333 LT
Type of aircraft:
Ilyushin II-14
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-41863
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Moscow – Voronezh – Stalingrad – Baku
MSN:
1460 007 01
YOM:
28
Flight number:
SU205
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
20
Pax fatalities:
20
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
25
Aircraft flight hours:
3922
Circumstances:
On final approach to Stalingrad-Gumrak Airport by night, while at an altitude of 400 meters, the airplane went out of control, banked right and crashed at a speed of 300 km/h in a snow covered field located 5 km from the runway 24 threshold. The aircraft was totally destroyed upon impact but there was no fire. All 25 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. However, the assumption that the aircraft may have been mistakenly shot down was not ruled out. Five round holes of a diameter of 10 mm and 35 mm where found in the flight deck. Also, various metallic fragments foreign to the structure of the aircraft were found above the captain's head as well as in his left thigh. It is believed that arms being fired from a military training facility beneath the approach path.