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Crash of a Douglas DC-3-196 in Saratov: 1 killed

Date & Time: May 24, 1943 at 1615 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
URSS-B
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Baku – Astrakhan – Saratov – Moscow
MSN:
2035
YOM:
1943
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
16
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The crew decided to take off in the direction of rising ground as there was some side wind in the normal takeoff direction. The aircraft lifted off close to the end of the runway, made a turn at low height and low speed in order to come clear of the hill ahead, stalled, came down and collided with an earth wall. The copilot was killed while all 19 other occupants were injured.
Probable cause:
Wrong decision on part of the crew who decided to takeoff from the wrong runway considering the wind direction (11 km/h cross wind). The reaction of the copilot during the initial climb was erroneous and the supervision of the captain was inappropriate.

Crash of a GVF PS-84 in Matsesta: 6 killed

Date & Time: May 20, 1943 at 0135 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L3909
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Sochi - Sochi
MSN:
184 11 15
YOM:
1941
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The crew left Sochi-Adler at the end of the afternoon on a supply mission to the soldiers based in Crimea. While approaching Crimea, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and all three targets were inaccessible. In such conditions, the captain decided to return to Sochi were the weather conditions worsened so it was not possible to land. The crew diverted to Sukhumi where the landing was refused so to the captain eventually took the decision to return to Adler Airport. On approach by night, at a height of 500 meters, the airplane hit the slope of a mountain located 16 km north of the airport, near Matsesta. All six crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
The crew attempted to land at Sochi-Adler in below-minima weather conditions.

Crash of a GVF PS-84 in Perm: 1 killed

Date & Time: May 11, 1943 at 1130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L3931
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Perm - Perm
MSN:
184 14 01
YOM:
22
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a test flight after one of the engine was changed. Shortly after takeoff, while in initial climb, both engines flamed out simultaneously. The captain decided to return for an emergency landing but the aircraft lost height, hit the roofs of two wooded houses and crashed few km from the airport. A crew member was killed while four other occupants were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
It appears that the flight mechanic made a mistake in handling the fuel management system after liftoff, causing both engines to stop.

Crash of a GVF PS-84 in Moscow: 2 killed

Date & Time: Mar 27, 1943 at 1700 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L3440
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow – Khvoynaya
MSN:
7 5 19
YOM:
25
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
9
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Aircraft flight hours:
1977
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Moscow-Khodynka Airport, while in initial climb, the left engine developed problems. The captain decided to return for an emergency landing but failed to follow the published approach procedures and elected to land on the nearest runway. With a tailwind component, he completed a straight in approach but came too high so performed a sharp turn to the left when the left wing hit the ground. Out of control, the aircraft crashed and came to rest near the runway. The copilot and the flight engineer were killed while four other people were injured, three of them seriously. All other occupants escaped unhurt.
Probable cause:
The loss of power that occurred on the left engine shortly after takeoff was caused by a too low fuel octane ratio. The pilot's decision to return for an emergency landing was correct but he failed to follow the published procedures and adopted a wrong approach configuration with a tailwind component, and completed a too sharp turn to the left, causing the aircraft to crash.

Crash of a GVF PS-84 in Berdigestyakh: 3 killed

Date & Time: Mar 5, 1943 at 0520 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L3913
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Yakutsk – Olyokminsk
MSN:
184 12 04
YOM:
1941
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
6
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
On a flight from Yakutsk to Olyokminsk, while cruising at a height of some 150 meters, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy snowfalls. Shortly later, both engines lost power and the aircraft lost height, hit trees and crashed in a wooded area. Three crew members were killed, another crew member and one passenger were injured while six other passengers were unhurt. One of them left the area to find help. 11 days later, rescuers arrived on scene to evacuate the seven other survivors.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the dual engine failure was not determined with certainty. However, it is believed it was caused by the fact that the carburetor failed due to icing or the crew (captain or flight engineer) failed to activate the carburetor heating system. It was also reported that the decision of the captain to fly at low altitude was wrong and, at the time of the accident, the flight engineer was intoxicated.

Crash of a GVF PS-84 in Myakinino: 5 killed

Date & Time: Jan 23, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L3443
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Khvoynaya – Moscow
MSN:
7 5 25
YOM:
6
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
2000
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful cargo flight from Khvoynaya and while approaching the Moscow area, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with fog and snow falls. As the pilot was unable to localize the Airport of Vnukovo, he decided to divert to Khimki but was unable to land there so completed several circuits above the northwest area of Moscow. Eventually, while flying at low height in bad visibility, the airplane hit a barn and crashed in a field located at the border of the sovkhoz owned by the '16th Party Congress'. Three crew members and two passengers were killed while five other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
Wrong decision on part of the captain who decided to leave Khvoynaya Airport too late so the arrival time in Moscow was beyond the sunset at 1642LT. Also, weather conditions at destination were below minima due to fog and snow falls.

Crash of a GVF PS-84 in Yanaul: 10 killed

Date & Time: Dec 22, 1942 at 1340 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L3903
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow – Kazan – Sverdlovsk
MSN:
5 05
YOM:
0
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
10
Aircraft flight hours:
1954
Circumstances:
On the leg from Kazan to Sverdlovsk, while cruising at an altitude of 400 meters in clouds, the crew encountered severe icing conditions and decided to divert to the Yanaul Airport, in the Republic of Bashkortostan. On final approach, the pilot in command started a go around for unknown reason. While completing a steep turn at low height, the aircraft stalled and crashed on a meat processing plant. All five crew members and five passengers were killed while two other passengers were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the loss of control was caused by an excessive accumulation of ice on the airplane and that its performances were reduced. Also, the weather briefing transmitted to the crew was not reflecting the truth, which was considered as a contributory factor.

Crash of a Tupolev ANT-20bis near Tashkent: 36 killed

Date & Time: Dec 14, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L760
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Chardzhou - Tashkent
YOM:
1938
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
30
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
36
Aircraft flight hours:
272
Circumstances:
The six engine aircraft was performing a regular schedule flight from Chardhou (Turkmenistan) to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with a crew of six and thirty passengers on board. On descent, while at an altitude of 500 meters, the aircraft nosed down at an angle of 80° and crashed in a huge explosion some 50 km from Tashkent Airport. All 36 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
According to Soviet Authorities, the captain was not at his seat at the time of the accident. Investigations revealed that a passenger was seating at the place of the captain and disconnected the automatic pilot before engaging the aircraft in a wrong attitude and configuration. This caused the aircraft to nose down and crash.

Crash of a Tupolev PS-35bis near Shemakha: 5 killed

Date & Time: Nov 11, 1942 at 1300 LT
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L2483
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Baku – Tbilisi
MSN:
2/0
YOM:
1938
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The crew left Baku-Bina Airport at 1245LT on a flight to Tbilisi. Fifteen minutes later, while cruising at an altitude of 900 meters in clouds, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located near the city of Shemakha, just above the Dzheirankechmaz River. The passenger and the copilot were injured while all other crew members were killed. The pilot died from his injuries a day later.

Crash of a GVF PS-84 near Stalingrad: 6 killed

Date & Time: Aug 12, 1942 at 0400 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L3921
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Stalingrad - Stalingrad
MSN:
184 12 12
YOM:
1941
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The crew left Stalingrad-Tsentralny Airport at 0310LT on a supply mission to Zhirkov, beyond the enemy line, with a cargo consisting of ammunition. After thirty minutes of flight, the crew dropped the ammunition and returned to his base when the aircraft was shot down by enemy antiaircraft fire and crashed in a field. All six crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
Shot down by antiaircraft fire.