Date & Time:
Aug 12, 1951 at 0702 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lisunov LI-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4314
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Vilyuisk - Yakutsk
MSN:
18427409
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
11
Pax fatalities:
2
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Vilyuisk Airport, while climbing, the left engine failed. The crew was able to shut down the engine and to feather the propeller and decided to return to the airport for a safe landing. After completing a circuit, the airplane was approaching the airfield when it stalled and crashed in a field. Two passengers were killed while 14 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
Failure of the left engine after liftoff due to a technical problem on the regulator. However, it was determined that the crew failed to take the appropriate actions and due to a lack of coordination, completed the approach in a wrong configuration with a too low speed, causing the aircraft to stall. A recovery was impossible due to an insufficient distance between the airplane and the ground. It appears that the captain and the second pilot who was acting as an instructor on this flight and was seating in the right seat did not have sufficient skills to operate in such situation with one engine inoperative.
