Date & Time:
Feb 18, 1979 at 1231 LT
Type of aircraft:
PZL-Mielec AN-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-07837
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Positioning
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Jalal-Abad – Komsomol
MSN:
1G169-52
YOM:
1976
Country:
Kyrgyzstan
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
1
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
2
Aircraft flight hours:
2002
Aircraft flight cycles:
6845
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a positioning flight from Jalal-Abad to the "Komsomol" Airstrip in the Bazar-Kurgan district of the Osh region. nine minutes after takeoff, he encountered below-minima weather conditions (low clouds and fog) over the Kara-Kiyakyr Mountain Range. The decision to return was taken too late so the aircraft entered a layer of fog and crashed at a height of 970 metres into the slope of a mountain (1,163 metres high) located west of Suzak (at N40°53' E72°51', some 10.5 km southwest of Jalal-Abad Airport). One of the two pilots and the sole passenger (an aircraft mechanic) were killed and the sole survivor was injured.
Probable cause:
Decision of the captain to continue the flight in below-minima weather conditions and his decision to return was too late. It was also reported that ATC failed to inform the crew about the minimum safe altitude in the area and the fact that weather conditions deteriorated en route. Finally, weather bulletin published by meteorologist were incomplete.
