Date & Time:
Jan 13, 1955 at 1130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lisunov LI-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L5000
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
No
Site:
City
Schedule:
Moscou – Gorki – Sverdlovsk
MSN:
334 449 02
YOM:
1953
Flight number:
SU031
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
2188
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Bykovo Airport, while climbing to a height of 20-30 meters, the right engine failed. The aircraft lost height, collided with trees and eventually crashed onto a house located less than one km from the airfield. The airplane burst into flames and was totally destroyed as well as the house. All five crew members were killed while no one on the ground was injured. The owner of the house just left his house three minutes before the accident. The crew was completing a mail flight to Svedlovsk with an intermediate stop in Gorki, carrying a load of 1,989 kilos of mail and newspapers.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the failure of the right engine was caused by an act of sabotage. A nut was found in the fuel line which caused the fuel pump to fail during initial climb. A similar case was detected eight days prior to the crash.
