Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines

The crew departed Nyurba Airport at 1010LT on a cargo flight to Novosibirsk with intermediate stops at Botyobiya, Muhtuya, Vitim, Kirensk and Krasnoyarsk, carrying a load of various goods for a total weight of 900 kilos on behalf of the 'Amakinskoy' geophysical mission. One hour and twenty minutes after his departure from Nyurba, the crew arrived at Botyobiya and the captain started a steep descent (5 to 7 meters per second) and retarded the throttle when the aircraft struck the ground few meters short of runway threshold, bounced and crashed in flames 84 meters farther. The flight mechanic was killed while both pilots were seriously injured (burns). The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire.

The crew was returning to Gizhiga Airport following a geophysical survey flight. En route, the pilot entered a narrow valley and while the visibility was decreasing due to clouds, the pilot decided to make a 180 turn. At an altitude of 460 meters, he started a turn to the right when the airplane collided with the mountain and crashed in flames. The radio navigator was slightly injured while all three other occupants were killed. The aircraft was destroyed.

The aircraft departed Batagay Airport at 1142LT bound for Deputatsky with a crew of three, three passengers and 543 kilos of various goods. En route, weather conditions worsened and the pilot climbed from 1,400 to 2,000 meters. As the visibility deteriorated, the aircraft deviated from the prescribed flight plan by 12 km and later, the pilot-in-command reduced his altitude to 1,300 meters when the airplane hit the slope of Mt Hadaraniya (1,468 meters high) located about 175 km northeast of Batagay. Two passengers were injured while four other occupants were killed. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire.

After touchdown at Voronezh Airport, the crew completed the braking procedure and vacated the runway for the taxiway when an explosion occurred in the right engine that caught fire. In the mean time, the right main gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest in flames ont its belly. All occupants (four crew members and an undetermined number of passengers) evacuated safely while the airplane was partially destroyed by fire and declared as written off.

While approaching Berlin-Schönefeld Airport, the airplane was too low and struck the top of the Bohnsdorf church, crashed and burst into flames three km from the airfield. Three crew members were killed and three others were injured. For undetermined reason, the crew was approaching the airport at an insufficient altitude.

Less than one minute after takeoff from Sukhumi Airport by night, while climbing to a height of 60 meters, the aircraft adopted a pitch-down attitude and eventually crashed into the sea about 3 km off shore. The airplane sank by 15 meters deep and all six occupants were killed. The aircraft was carrying a load of 2,117 kilos of mail.

The crew was performing the flight Ust-Khayryuzovo - Palana with intermediate stops at Tiguil and Voyampolka, carrying three passengers, two pilots and 954 kilos of deer meat carcasses. Shortly after takeoff from Voyampolka, the copilot told the captain they forgot to deliver a package so the pilot decided to return, completed a low pass at a height of 50 meters, opened his window and jettisoned the package when the aircraft banked left and lost altitude, causing the left wing to struck the ground. Out of control, the airplane cartwheeled and crashed upside down on an icy terrain. The airplane was destroyed and all five occupants were injured. One of the passenger died from his injuries few hours later.

The aircraft left Almaty Airport at 0515LT bound for Moscow via Balkash, carrying one passenger, five crew members, 763 kilos of various goods and 683 kilos of mail. Upon departure, the total weight of the aircraft was 10,722 kilos, 22 kilos above MTOW. Enroute to Balkash, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. While flying in clouds, some instruments failed. The pilot-in-command lost his orientation and then the control of the aircraft that dove into the ground and crashed in a snow covered area located about 105 km southeast of the Balkash Lake. It was determined that the aircraft hit the ground in a 65° nose-down angle at high speed and disintegrated on impact, causing the debris to be scattered on more than 200 meters. All six occupants were killed.

After his departure from Sovietskaya Gavan Airport, the crew obtained the permission to continue at the assigned altitude of 2,700 meters. Weather conditions deteriorated enroute with clouds, turbulences and high winds blowing from the north up to 90 km/h. While overflying the Sikhote-Alin Mountain Range, the aircraft encountered downdrafts and lost altitude. The crew increased engine power and elected to gain height but the aircraft continued to descent until it struck the slope of Mt Tordoki-Yani (1,750 meters high). The wreckage was found on December 21, 1955 and all 21 occupants have been killed. It was reported that the aircraft struck the mountain 20 meters below the summit.

The aircraft left Sverdlovsk Airport bound for Petropavl with four passengers, a crew of five, 869 kilos of mail and 496 kilos of various goods. While cruising by night, the crew encountered higher winds than predicted and due to the lack of visibility, lost their orientation and were unable to locate the airport of Petropavl. The captain decided to divert to Kurgan Airport but was unable to contact ground due to communication problems. He then decided to return to Svedlovsk but as the fuel reserves were too low, he eventually decided to continue to Petropavl that was closed due to poor weather conditions. While cruising in snow falls about 215 km from Petropavl Airport, both engines failed due fuel exhaustion. The crew attempted an emergency landing in a snow covered field when the airplane crashed 250 meters from the Omsk-Tyumen railroad. Two passengers were seriously injured while all seven other occupants were killed.