Date & Time:
Dec 26, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Polikarpov Po-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-K320
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Ambulance
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Irkutsk - Balagansk - Zhigalovo - Ust-Kut - Nizhne-Ilimsk
MSN:
16770
YOM:
1940
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
2
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Irkutsk Airport to transfer a patient to Nizhne-Ilimsk with intermediate stops in Balagansk, Zhigalovo and Ust-Kut. After passing a night at Balagansk, the pilot continued on December 26 to Zhigalovo. As the airplane failed to arrive at destination, SAR operations were initiated but eventually abandoned after few days as no trace of the aircraft nor the three occupants was found. It is believed that the pilot encountered poor visibility due to fog while approaching Zhigalovo, missed the airfield and probably deviated by approximately 150 km in the area of the Kirenga River. Eventually, the airplane may have crashed due to fuel exhaustion. The wreckage was never found.
