Date & Time:
Oct 13, 1973 at 2018 LT
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev TU-104
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-42486
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Kutaisi - Moscow
MSN:
0 2 15 04
YOM:
1960
Flight number:
SU964
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
8
Pax on board:
114
Pax fatalities:
114
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
122
Aircraft flight hours:
16250
Aircraft flight cycles:
9776
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Kutaisi, the crew started the descent to Moscow-Domodedovo by night and good weather conditions. On approach at an altitude of 1,300 feet, the airplane banked left to an angle of 75° then nosed down and crashed in a huge explosion in a potatoes field located 16,3 km from the runway threshold. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 122 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the loss of control on approach was the consequence of the failure of artificial horizons as a result of a malfunction of the on-board electrical system. The combination of night, lack of visibility and flight instruments failure caused the pilot to suffer a spatial disorientation and the eventual loss of control.
