Date & Time:
Jun 23, 1954 at 1305 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lisunov LI-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-I403
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Verkhnyaya Salda – Sverdlovsk – Omsk
MSN:
184 24 03
YOM:
9
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
3
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
1
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
4
Aircraft flight hours:
9816
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Verkhnyaya Salda Airport, while climbing to a height of 30-40 meters, both engines failed almost simultaneously. The airplane stalled, hit power cables and eventually crashed in flames in a field located 1,500 meters past the runway end. Three crew members and a passenger were killed while three other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The crew was completing a cargo flight from Verkhnyaya Salda to Omsk with an intermediate stop in Sverdlovsk on behalf of the Ministry of Aviation Industry (MAP - Ministerstvo Aviatsionnoi Promyshlennosti).
Probable cause:
It was determined that both engines failed due to a fuel exhaustion. Investigations confirmed that the fuel selector was connected to the left rear fuel tank that was empty. At the time of the accident, one of the passenger was seating at the copilot seat, against the published procedures. Also, it appears that most of the crew members were intoxicated, which was considered as contributory factors.
