Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines

On the leg from the sovkhoz (state farm) "Kommunizm" to Samarkand of a flight from Nurata to Samarkand when encountered below-minima weather conditions (low clouds and heavy rain), the captain failed to return (his children were alone at home while his wife was in hospital), he deviated from the prescribed flight path to the East in the pursuit of better weather, flying along the Nuratau mountain range (1,100 metres). Aircraft lost height due to strong katabatic winds and crashed at a height of 930 metres into the slope of a mountain 3.4 km from Shamurat (Nurata district of the Samarkand region). Both pilots and all 9 passengers killed.

Two hours after his departure from Magadan on a flight to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, while cruising by night at an altitude of 3,600 meters, the crew informed ATC that the right engine failed. The pilot was instructed to divert to Sobolevo Airport for a safe landing but he preferred to continue to the destination despite the fact the aircraft was losing altitude as the power on one engine was insufficient. The aircraft descended to 2,700 meters and the pilot was aware of the mountain en route (2,000 meters high) and estimated his altitude was sufficient (gap of about 600 meters). Few minutes later, weather conditions deteriorated with snow showers and the visibility became very limited. Henceforth at an altitude of 2,000 meters in poor visibility, the airplane struck the slope of Mt Yurshik (2,059 meters high) located about 60 km northwest of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The wreckage was found three days later, on January 4, and all 23 occupants have been killed.

On the leg from Krasnoyarsk to Magadan of a flight from Moscow to Magadan, the autopilot system failed while the aircraft was flying at a height of 8,000 metres by night. The aircraft banked to the left at an angle of 80-90°, entered a dive and descended at a speed of 730 km/h. Control was recovered by the crew at a height of some 4,000 metres. The crew managed to land safely at Magadan-Sokol Airport but the aircraft suffered structural damage during the dive with up to 3.8 g forces. Transferred to the Yegoryevsk technical school on 14DEC66, the aircraft was eventually struck of charge in 16FEB71 due to its poor technical condition. There were no casualties.

The undercarriage collapsed while landing on a snow covered runway at Ust-Maya. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.

Following an uneventful flight from Leningrad-Pulkovo Airport, the crew started the approach to Murmansk Airport by night and poor weather conditions due to snow falls. After passing the middle marker, the aircraft was 400 meters left of the approach path when the visibility suddenly dropped due to a snow squall. The airplane was below the glide when the captain misinterpreted lights on the ground and decided to increased the rate of descent. The airplane struck the icy surface of the Kilp Yavr Lake located 1,5 km short of runway 31, lost its left wing and came to rest in shallow water about 1,562 meters short of runway. 32 occupants were evacuated while 32 others were killed. The aircraft was destroyed.

The aircraft departed Tashkent on a cargo flight to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with intermediate stops in Fergana, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk, carrying a load of 10,475 kilos of grapes. En route from Krasnoyarsk to Irkutsk, the crew was informed about poor weather at destination and decided to divert to Ulan Ude although that airport was not suitable for such type of aircraft. While approaching from the north in marginal weather conditions, at an altitude of 1,200 meters, the airplane struck the slope of a wooded mountain located 32 km north of the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed and all eight occupants were killed.

On a positioning flight from an unnamed lake located 60 km south of Loukhi to Loukhi when the intoxicated captain descended steeply over lake Keret (30 km south of Loukhi). The second pilot tried to prevent this but the aircraft crashed into the lake, nosed over and sank to a depth of 4 metres. The captain drowned while the copilot was rescued by the crew of a boat. Analysis of the captain's body revealed a concentration of 1,04 ‰ of alcohol in blood.

Following crop-spraying operations in the region of Šilale, an intoxicated pilot set out on an unauthorized flight after sunrise. Few minutes after takeoff, the single engine aircraft struck trees and crashed in flames about 7 km from the airstrip. The airplane was destroyed by fire and pilot was killed. Examination of pilot body revealed a blood alcohol level of 2.8 ‰.

Few minutes after takeoff from Briakan, weather conditions deteriorated and the crew, instead of returning to Briakan, decided to continue. In low clouds, the airplane deviated from the prescribed flight path by 17 km to the right when, at a height of 600 meters, the airplane stuck tree tops and crashed on the slope of a mountain (1,220 metres) located near Gorny, some 65 km northwest of Khurba Airport. SAR arrived on scene one day later. A pilot was killed while all 11 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire.

During crop-spraying operations for the "Relyevski" sovkhoz (state farm) at Chamzinka (Mordoviya) when the intoxicated pilot made an illegal pleasure flight with members of the local police forces. He performed unauthorized manoeuvre at low height so that the left wing collided with a pole of a telephone line near Chamzinka. Aircraft crashed upside down. The pilot and four passengers were killed. The only survivor was seriously injured.