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Crash of an Antonov AN-2 near the Santash Pass: 9 killed

Date & Time: Jan 3, 1961
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-25482
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Frunze - Przhevalsk - Kegen
MSN:
1 42 473 18
YOM:
1954
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Aircraft flight hours:
4270
Circumstances:
Seven passengers embarked at Przhevalsk Airport and after takeoff, the crew climbed to the altitude of 2,700 meters in a visibility of 5 km. After passing the Santash Pass, weather conditions worsened and the visibility dropped below minimums. The captain decided to reduce his altitude and to continue below the clouds. In a visibility reduced to one km due to snow falls and at high speed, the single engine airplane struck a snow covered hill and disintegrated on impact. All nine occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The decision of the captain to reduce his altitude without ATC clearance and to continue the flight in a visibility that was below minimums until impact with the ground. A poor flight preparation on part of the crew was considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18A in Ulyanovsk: 17 killed

Date & Time: Dec 28, 1960 at 1942 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-75651
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Kuybyshev - Ulyanovsk
MSN:
188 0004 05
YOM:
18
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
13
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
17
Aircraft flight hours:
144
Aircraft flight cycles:
178
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a training flight from Kuybyshev to Ulyanovsk, carrying 13 crew members (five instructors and eight pilots under supervision) and four employees of the Voronezh aircraft plant. Following an uneventful flight, the pilot started the approach and when the flaps were selected down to 40°, the airplane became unstable. From a height of 120-150 metes, it stalled and crashed in a field located 1,240 meters short of runway threshold. The airplane was destroyed and all 17 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The approach was completed in cloud and icing conditions and it is believed that the loss of control was caused by the contamination by ice of critical surfaces such as stabilizers and elevators. The combination of icing conditions and the deployment of the flaps to an angle of 40° caused the aircraft to stall and the distance between the airplane and the ground was insufficient to expect a recovery.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 near Semipalatinsk: 12 killed

Date & Time: Dec 10, 1960 at 0936 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-33181
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Semipalatinsk – Abay
MSN:
1145 473 17
YOM:
14
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
10
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
12
Aircraft flight hours:
149
Circumstances:
The single engine aircraft departed Semipalatinsk Airport at 0917LT on a flight to Abay, carrying 10 passengers and two pilots. About fifteen minutes after takeoff, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with a sky broken from 600 to 1,000 meters, snow falls, wind up to 45 km/h and a visibility between 4 and 6 km. In such conditions, ATC instructed the crew to return to Semipalatinsk and the crew confirmed this instruction when the contact was lost at 0936LT. SAR operations were conducted and the burned wreckage was found in a snow covered field located 35 km south of Semipalatinsk. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 12 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Investigations determined that the immediate cause of the accident was a loss of speed resulting in a stall of the aircraft due to a loss of longitudinal controllability when the aircraft's center of gravity moved beyond the range of 40-42% of the envelope. The movement of the CofG occurred when several passengers moved from the rear of the cabin (toilet). Poor flight preparation on part of the flying crew who failed to check the weather conditions properly and the lack of visibility were considered as contributing factors.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14M in Chernovo: 14 killed

Date & Time: Dec 4, 1960 at 2253 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-52091
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Syktyvkar – Gorki – Moscow
MSN:
7 34 29 05
YOM:
12
Flight number:
SU081
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
9
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
14
Aircraft flight hours:
6163
Circumstances:
The aircraft departed Syktyvkar Airport at 2228LT on a flight to Moscow via Gorki and the crew received the permission to climb to 3,000 meters. 18 minutes later, the crew reported icing conditions and received the permission to climb to 3,600 meters. Three minutes later, at 2249LT, the crew reported that the right engine caught fire and requested the permission to divert to the nearest airport. Apparently, the crew was unable to extinguish the fire and the captain completed a rapid descent. After passing the last cloud layer, at an altitude of 100-150 meters, the airplane went out of control and crashed in flames in a field located 500 meters from the village of Chernovo, some 134 km northeast of Gorki Airport. The aircraft was totally destroyed upon impact and all 14 occupants have been killed.
Probable cause:
Failure of the cylinders and pistons on the right engine in flight which caused a fuel and hydraulic leak. Both fluids caught fire when contacted high temperature equipment of the engine. The right engine totalized 1,164 hours and 390 hours since last overhaul.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14FK in Leningrad: 9 killed

Date & Time: Nov 25, 1960 at 1435 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-91610
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Leningrad - Leningrad
MSN:
1480 019 43
YOM:
27
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Aircraft flight hours:
1709
Circumstances:
The crew departed Leningrad-Shosseynaya Airport at 0947LT for a local training mission. At this time, weather conditions were poor with low clouds down to 200 meters, mist and a visibility less than 5 km. Thus, the crew was instructed to complete the training mission in the vicinity of the airfield. At the beginning of the afternoon, ATC authorized the crew to continue the mission and while cruising at an altitude of 2,100 meters, the pilot-in-command lost control of the airplane that went into a dive. After crossing the last cloud layer, the pilot elected to regain control but it was too late. The airplane crashed and exploded in a field located in Dachnoe, less than a km north of the airfield. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all nine occupants were killed, among them three pilots, four instructors and two passengers.
Probable cause:
The loss of control occurred while the crew was simulating the failure of the right engine in cloudy conditions. Most probably due to successive errors, or maybe due to a spatial disorientation that affected the pilot-in-command, the airplane went out of control and entered a dive. The pilot elected to regain control after passing the last cloud layer (200 meters from the ground) but the distance between the aircraft and the ground was insufficient. The presence of two civilians on board was against the published regulation.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Zyrianka: 5 killed

Date & Time: Nov 11, 1960 at 2330 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-84748
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Magadan – Seymshan – Zyrianka – Nizhni Kresty – Bilibino – Pevek
MSN:
184 301 09
YOM:
29
Flight number:
SU213
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The aircraft was performing a cargo flight from Magadan to Pevek with intermediate stops at Seymshan, Zyrianka, Nizhni Kresty, and Bilibino, carrying one passenger, a crew of five and two tons of apples. The takeoff was started by night and in snow falls from a contaminated runway. After a long takeoff course, the pilot-in-command completed the rotation at low speed. After liftoff, the airplane reached a high angle of attack, stalled and struck the runway surface several times. It continued for few hundred yards then banked left and eventually crashed in flames in a snowy field located 440 meters past the runway end. The passenger was slightly injured while all five crew members were killed. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
The crew took the decision to takeoff from a contaminated runway that has not been properly cleaned prior to the accident. In such conditions, all safety conditions were not met and the aircraft performances were reduced. For undetermined reason, the crew decided to continue the takeoff run despite the course was too long and failed to take the right decision to abandon the departure procedure.

Crash of an Avia 14P in Penza: 5 killed

Date & Time: Oct 30, 1960 at 2158 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-52025
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Leningrad – Penza – Saratov
MSN:
051 704 114
YOM:
29
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
4382
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a cargo flight from Leningrad to Saratov with an intermediate stop at Penza, carrying a load of refrigerator spare parts. After takeoff from Penza Airport, while climbing by night, the airplane banked left to 40° then stalled and crashed in flames in a field located 2 km from the airport. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all five crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the loss of control during initial climb was caused by an excessive accumulation of ice on both engines and propeller blades. Due to a poor flight preparation and a wrong interpretation of the weather conditions, the captain decided to takeoff in freezing rain. The assumption that all speed indicators, altimeters and variometers were unserviceable at the time of the accident was not ruled out. Also, both engines did not run at impact.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-104A in Ust-Orda: 3 killed

Date & Time: Oct 21, 1960 at 2114 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-42452
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow – Omsk – Irkutsk – Khabarovsk
MSN:
9 66 017 01
YOM:
10
Flight number:
SU005
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
61
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Aircraft flight hours:
1071
Circumstances:
On the leg from Omsk to Irkutsk, at a distance of 160 km from the destination, the crew was informed about the deterioration of the weather conditions at Irkutsk Airport and was then diverted to Ust-Orda Airport. At this time, weather at Ust-Orda was as follow: cloud base at 250 meters, snow falls and a visibility of 3 km. On approach by night, the nose gear light was unserviceable so the captain decided to make a go around. For unknown reason, this procedure was delayed and he completed a low pass over the runway for about two km before making a turn to the left at a height of 10-15 meters when the airplane struck power cables. The aircraft stalled and crashed in flames on a hilly terrain near the airport. 46 passengers were uninjured while 19 occupants were injured. Three crew members were killed, the navigator, the radio operator and the mechanic. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire.
Probable cause:
The decision of the captain to perform a go around was comprehensive but the very low pass (10-15 meters) above the runway was unacceptable. Investigations were able to determine that weather conditions at Irkutsk Airport were not as bad and the decision of the ATC to divert the crew to Ust-Orda was not necessary. Also, it was the first time that the pilot was flying to Ust-Orda and he did not have any knowledge about the environment at this airport, which was considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14P in Brest: 1 killed

Date & Time: Sep 26, 1960
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-41866
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow – Moguilev – Minsk – Brest
MSN:
1460 007 04
YOM:
1956
Flight number:
SU607
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
21
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
6363
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Minsk Airport at 1245LT bound for Brest. While cruising at an altitude of 9,000 feet, the crew noted that the oil temperature on the right engine increased while the temperature of the second breech dropped. In such situation, the captain decided to shot down the right engine, feathered its propeller and continued to Brest. At 1405LT, he notified his situation to ATC and started the descent to Brest Airport in marginal weather conditions. On final approach, at an altitude of 40 meters, the undercarriage and flaps were lowered when the captain was instructed to go around. For unknown reason, he continued the approach and the right main gear touched down 390 meters past the runway threshold. The left main gear touched down 73 meters farther and after a course of 930 meters, the airplane overran and collided with the ILS antenna before coming to rest in flames. All 21 passengers were injured while five crew members were seriously wounded. The board mechanic died from his injuries five hours later. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
The right engine has to be shut down in flight because of the failure of the second cylinder due to a manufacture defect. Following poor techniques on part of the captain, the approach configuration on one engine was wrong and the third turn on final was completed too late. Marginal weather conditions, a wet runway surface and a limited visibility were considered as contributing factors.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14 on Mt Belaya: 18 killed

Date & Time: Sep 2, 1960 at 1710 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-04200
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Mys Shmidta – Perek – Cherski – Chokurdakh – Tiksi – Khatanga – Dikson – Amderma – Arkhangelsk – Cherepovets – Moscow
MSN:
1470 014 18
YOM:
17
Flight number:
SU804
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
13
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
18
Aircraft flight hours:
3580
Circumstances:
The aircraft was performing a special flight from Mys Schmidta to Moscow with polar researchers from the Soviet Air Force on board. On the leg from Arkhangelsk to Cherepovets, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and was flying at an insufficient altitude when the airplane struck the slope of Mt Belaya located in the region of Fedorovskaya, about 315 km southwest of Arkhangelsk. The aircraft was destroyed and all 18 occupants have been killed. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were as follow: visibility 4 km below cloud layer at 300 meters, fog, wind at 10 km/h and rain.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the captain decided to continue the flight at an insufficient altitude in poor weather conditions (below minima). Informations related to weather conditions were incomplete, which was considered as a contributing factor.