Date & Time:
Oct 22, 1975 at 1653 LT
Type of aircraft:
Yakovlev Yak-40
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-87458
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
City
Schedule:
Syktyvkar – Vologda – Novgorod – Riga
MSN:
9 43 17 36
YOM:
1974
Flight number:
SU098L
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
4
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
2
Other fatalities:
5
Total fatalities:
11
Aircraft flight hours:
2002
Aircraft flight cycles:
1500
Circumstances:
The crew encountered poor weather conditions while approaching Novgorod Airport with fog and a visibility below minimums. On final, the crew descended below MDA when the airplane struck the roof of a printing house and crashed in flames on a small residential building (three floors) located three km short of runway. The aircraft and the building were destroyed. All six occupants as well as five people in the building were killed.
Probable cause:
Failure of the crew to adhere to the published procedure while descending below the MDA in below minima visibility. Due to fog, the crew failed to locate the runway but continued the approach instead of initiating a go-around procedure. Weather information transmitted to the crew did not reflect the truth, which was considered as a contributing factor as well as the lack of ATC assistance.
