Date & Time:
Sep 15, 1973 at 0719 LT
Type of aircraft:
PZL-Mielec AN-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-70212
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Spraying (Agricultural)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
1G138-30
YOM:
1972
Country:
Turkmenistan
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
1029
Aircraft flight cycles:
3275
Circumstances:
During a crop-spraying flight for the sovkhoz (state farm) "40 let Turkmenskoi SSR" in the region of Tashauz, the single engine airplane collided at a height of 4 metres with a telephone pole located near the villages of Kommunizm and Udarnik (north-west of Tashauz) while flying against the low morning sun. The airplane crashed 120 metres further on, came to rest upside down, caught fire and burnt out. The captain was seriously injured while the copilot was killed.
Probable cause:
The crew failed to sea and avoid the telegraph pole while flying against the sun.
