Nikolayevski Aviation Enterprise | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

Following a poor flight preparation, the crew chose the wrong runway according to the wind component and elected to takeoff with a tailwind, and moreover with the flaps retracted. The captain started the takeoff roll from an intersection instead using all the runway length, causing the takeoff distance to be 660 metres. After a course of about 190 metres, the aircraft deviated to the right, veered off runway and came into soft ground. The crew continued to roll on a distance of 95 metres when the tail gear (tail ski) was torn off while contacting a 40 cm high earth mound. The aircraft continued, overran and came to rest 30 metres past the runway end. All 11 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

Poor flight preparation on part of the crew who neglected several published procedures. It was determined that the pilot was intoxicated at the time of the accident.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2P near Kherpuchi: 13 killed

Date & Time: Jun 16, 1995 at 1415 LT

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Nikolayevski Aviation Enterprise

Registration:

RA-07743

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Poliny Osipenko – Kherpuchi – Oktyabrsky – Nikolayevsk-on-Amur

MSN:

1G159-18

YOM:

1974

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft was completing a flight from Poliny Osipenko to Nikolayevsk-on-Amur with intermediate stops in Kherpuchi and Oktyabrsky. Nine minutes after his departure from Kherpuchi Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low clouds. While cruising at an altitude of 400 metres, the aircraft struck tree tops, stalled and crashed in a wooded area located 21,5 km from Kherpuchi, bursting into flames. A passenger was seriously injured while 13 other occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the accident was the consequence of a controlled flight into terrain. The following contributing factors were reported:
- The crew continued the flight at the altitude of 400 metres while the minimum safe altitude for the area was fixed at 800 metres,
- Poor visibility due to low clouds (600 to 1,500 metres),
- The crew failed to return to the departure point when weather conditions deteriorated,
- Loss of visual contact with the ground after the crew decided to continue under VFR in IMC conditions,
- The crew did not receive the emergency radio station and signal devices before departure, as well as the fact that on that day the dispatch microphone at the Kherpuchi Airport was not turned on, which made it impossible to establish the actual instructions of the flight director. In such conditions, the flight was not monitored.