Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

An engine failed during flight and the crew was cleared to divert to Simferopol Airport for an emergency landing. After touchdown, the airplane overran and came to rest. There were no casualties while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

Engine failure in flight.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R near Chernivtsi

Date & Time: Oct 14, 1970

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-02833

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

MSN:

1G54-38

YOM:

1965

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew encountered below-minima weather conditions and elected to make an emergency landing near Chernivtsi when the aircraft crashed. There were no casualties.

Crash of an Antonov AN-12B in Mys-Kamennyy: 8 killed

Date & Time: Oct 1, 1970 at 1927 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-12

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-11031

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Mys-Kamennyy - Tyumen

MSN:

7 3 450 03

YOM:

1967

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

3637

Aircraft flight cycles:

1768

Circumstances:

After delivering various equipment for a local oil exploitation company, the crew was returning to Tyumen and departed Mys-Kamennyy Airport at 1911LT in snow showers reducing the visibility to 1,8 km. During initial climb, the crew was cleared to climb to 6,600 meters when four minutes later, the captain declared an emergency and stated that both left engines failed. He was cleared to fly back to Mys-Kamennyy Airport and started a return circuit. At a distance of 18 km from the airfield, he reported runway in sight and lowered the gear shortly later then reduced his altitude to 250 meters at a distance of eight km. At five km, he reported that the aircraft was losing altitude when he was instructed to turn right. Shortly later, at a speed of 220 km/h, the airplane crashed in an icy swamp located 2,2 km short of runway and 450 meters to the left of its extended centerline. The aircraft was destroyed and all eight occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

Investigations were unable to determine the exact cause of the failure of both left engines. Nevertheless, the assumption that this was caused by the presence of ice crystals or pellets clogging a fuel line or a fuel filter was not ruled out as well as a valve failure. Poor weather conditions were considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2T in Izhevsk

Date & Time: Sep 27, 1970

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-35417

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

MSN:

1133 473 15

YOM:

1960

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

On final approach to Izhevsk Airport, the aircraft stalled and crashed in an open field. All occupants were rescued while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

The single engine aircraft stalled on final approach due to an insufficient speed caused by a pilot error.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 near Bulbukhta: 1 killed

Date & Time: Sep 21, 1970

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-02195

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Perevoz – Bulbukhta

MSN:

1123 473 02

YOM:

1959

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

7840

Circumstances:

While on a cargo flight from Perevoz to Bulbukhta with supplies for the mine Dalne-Taiginski, the crew encountered below-minima weather conditions (snowfall and poor visibility). As the pilot failed to return, the airplane entered clouds and crashed at a height of 1,400 metres into the rocky slope of a mountain (1,439 metres high) located 10 km SSW of Bulbukhta, caught fire and burnt out. Both pilots were injured while the sole passenger was killed. Rescue team reached the crash site a day later.

Probable cause:

Controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R in Almalyk: 2 killed

Date & Time: Sep 5, 1970 at 0805 LT

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-28952

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Spraying (Agricultural)

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Almalyk - Almalyk

MSN:

1G09-12

YOM:

1961

Location:

Almalyk

Tashkent Province (Toshkent viloyati)

Country:

Uzbekistan

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

8678

Aircraft flight cycles:

7375

Circumstances:

During a crop-spraying flight for the kolkhoz (collective farm) im. Kalinina in the Buka district of the Tashkent region (Uzbekistan), while flying at a height of 10 meters, the single engine airplane collided with a high-voltage power line located between the villages of Dzharkishlak and Kashka (near Almalyk). Out of control, it crashed in a cotton field 94 metres further on and nosed over. The captain was killed instantly while the copilot died while being transferred to the hospital. It was determined that the accident occured while the crew was spraying a field which has not to be sprayed.

Probable cause:

Lack of discipline on part of the crew who failed to realize he was flying at an insufficient altitude and failed to locate the high-voltage power line.

Crash of a Yakovlev Yak-40 on Mt Airy Tash: 21 killed

Date & Time: Sep 3, 1970 at 2126 LT

Type of aircraft:

Yakovlev Yak-40

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-87690

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Frunze - Khujand

MSN:

9 91 05 03

YOM:

1969

Flight number:

SH-4

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

1020

Aircraft flight cycles:

1344

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Frunze Airport, Kirghizistan, at 2024LT bound to Leninabad, Tajikistan, carrying 18 passengers and a crew of three. Weather conditions were considered as good and the crew reached the assigned altitude of 5,700 meters. En route, the crew failed to realize the airplane deviated from the prescribed flight path to the west and informed ATC he passed over the cities of Namangan and Kokand. At 2121LT, ATC based at Leninabad cleared the crew to descent to 3,300 meters then 2,100 meters without knowing the exact position of the airplane. By night, at a speed of 500 km/h, the airplane struck the slope of Mt Airy Tash (2,300 meters high) located about 90 km northeast of Leninabad. The airplane disintegrated on impact and all 21 occupants were killed. First accident involving a Yak-40.

Probable cause:

Poor flight planning, erroneous in-flight decisions and navigation errors on part of the flying crew caused the aircraft to be off-course at the time of the accident, resulting in a controlled flight into terrain. The following contributing factors were reported:
- Lack of ATC assistance who failed to properly check the exact position of the aircraft before clearing the crew to descent to 2,100 meters over mountains terrain,
- ATC failed to use properly the different navaids, poor ATC coverage,
- Both pilots were relatively inexperienced on this type of aircraft as they were recently qualified on Yak-40 type,
- Lack of experience in IFR flight and by night,
- Despite the fact that the captain had already been disciplined for serious violations of flight rules, he had recently been allowed to fly with passengers on night flights on this type of aircraft.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-124 in Lihovka Zapolishki: 37 killed

Date & Time: Sep 2, 1970 at 1537 LT

Type of aircraft:

Tupolev TU-124

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-45012

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Mineralnye Vody - Rostov-on-Don - Vilnius

MSN:

1 35 04 02

YOM:

1961

Flight number:

SU3630

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

7504

Aircraft flight cycles:

6996

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Rostov-on-Don Airport at 1455LT and reached the assigned altitude of 8,400 meters at 1514LT. At this time, ATC instructed the crew to climb to 9,000 meters due to traffic ahead. The new altitude of 9,000 meters was reached two minutes later at 1516LT. While cruising in good weather conditions, the crew sent a brief message and mentioned the number '45' followed by a long pause. A second message was heard on the frequency with the number 'zero' then a third message with the pilot shouting the number '12'. Then the contact was definitely interrupted and the airplane entered a dive. During the descent, it reached the speed of 950 km/h and banked left to an angle of 75° before crashing in a cornfield located about 90 km from Dniepropetrovsk and 57 km from Krementchug. At impact, the airplane caused a huge crater and the accident was not survivable.

Probable cause:

The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. Nevertheless, the following facts were reported:
- There was no in-flight collision,
- There was no in-flight fire prior to impact,
- No military operations were in place in that area at the time of the accident,
- Both engines were turning at idle at impact.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18V in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Date & Time: Aug 23, 1970

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-18

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-75823

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Moscow – Chelyabinsk – Krasnoyarsk – Chita – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

MSN:

182 0049 02

YOM:

1962

Flight number:

SU017

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew started the approach to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk by night and heavy rain falls. On short final, the captain realized he was well above the glide so he decided to increase the rate of descent. The airplane struck the runway surface nose first at a speed of 230 km/h and with a positive acceleration of 2,8 g. It bounced then landed a second time with an acceleration of 3,8 g. Upon impact, the nose gear was torn off, the engine number one detached and both wings were bent. Out of control, the airplane slid for several yards before coming to rest. All occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

Wrong approach configuration on part of the pilot-in-command. Poor crew coordination and poor weather conditions were considered as contributing factors.