Country
Turkmenistan
code

Balkan Province (Balkan welaýaty)

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2P in Bekdash

Date & Time: Nov 11, 1993
Type of aircraft:
PZL-Mielec AN-2
Operator:
Registration:
EZ-07469
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
1G151-44
YOM:
1973
Location:
Bekdash
Balkan Province (Balkan welaýaty)
Country:
Turkmenistan
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The engine failed in flight, forcing the crew to attempt an emergency landing. All four occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Engine failure for unknown reasons.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-154B-1 in Krasnovodsk: 11 killed

Date & Time: Jan 18, 1988 at 0519 LT
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev TU-154
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-85254
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Moscow – Krasnovodsk – Ashgabat
MSN:
78A254
YOM:
1978
Flight number:
SU699
Location:
Krasnovodsk
Balkan Province (Balkan welaýaty)
Country:
Turkmenistan
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
137
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
11
Aircraft flight hours:
15859
Aircraft flight cycles:
8082
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Moscow-Domodedovo, the crew started a night approach to Krasnovodsk Airport. The visibility was reduced due to the night combined with clouds down to 400 meters. The copilot was the pilot-in-command and he completed the approach at a speed of 270 km/h with flaps down at 28°. During the last segment, flaps were downed to an angle of 45° when the rate of descent increased to 10 meters per second. At a height of 30 meters, the copilot did not have visual contact with the runway but the captain decided to continue the approach. At an excessive speed of 275 km/h, the aircraft touched down 3 meters to the left of the runway centerline. It bounced, rolled for few hundred meters and came to rest on the main runway, broken in two. Eleven passengers were killed, 120 people were injured while 15 other escaped uninjured.
Probable cause:
Wrong approach configuration on part of the pilot-in-command (copilot) who continued the approach after passing the minimum descent altitude without any visual contact with the runway.
The following contributing factors were reported:
- Excessive approach speed and rate of descent,
- Poor approach planning and landing preparation,
- Lack of crew coordination,
- Lack of supervision on part of the captain,
- The crew failed to initiate a go-around procedure,
- Poor visibility due to the night and low clouds.

Crash of a Yakovlev Yak-40 in Krasnovodsk: 23 killed

Date & Time: Aug 15, 1975 at 2201 LT
Type of aircraft:
Yakovlev Yak-40
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-87323
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Bakou – Krasnovodsk – Ashkhabad
MSN:
9 33 02 30
YOM:
1973
Flight number:
SU053A
Location:
Krasnovodsk
Balkan Province (Balkan welaýaty)
Country:
Turkmenistan
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
34
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
23
Aircraft flight hours:
2130
Aircraft flight cycles:
1914
Circumstances:
On approach to Krasnovodsk Airport by night, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions and at an approximate altitude of 300 meters while on a distance of 5 km from the airfield, the aircraft's speed dropped from 260 km/h to 200 km/h with a rate of descent of 2,5 meters per second. The crew elected to correct this configuration but the aircraft continued to descend until it struck, at a speed of 150 km/h, a rocky cliff situated on the shore of the Caspian Sea, some 159 meters above sea level and located about 4,700 meters short of runway threshold. Upon impact, the right engine and the right wing were torn off, the aircraft bounced and then crashed in flames few dozen meters further. Two crew members and 21 passengers were killed while 15 other occupants were injured.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the aircraft was caught by orographic turbulence on final approach whose speed was about 30 meters per second (108 km/h). This caused the aircraft to lose altitude and speed and any correction from the flying crew was unsuccessful. The following contributing factors were reported:
- Lack of knowledge on part of the meteorologist about the characteristics of such specific climate phenomenon,
- The absence of a system able to detect such phenomenon,
- The crew inexperience in such flight conditions.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2TP in Karayman: 2 killed

Date & Time: Mar 19, 1975
Type of aircraft:
PZL-Mielec AN-2
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-07533
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Nebit-Dag – Burgun – Karayman
MSN:
1G152-61
YOM:
1973
Location:
Karayman
Balkan Province (Balkan welaýaty)
Country:
Turkmenistan
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Aircraft flight hours:
1493
Aircraft flight cycles:
2018
Circumstances:
On the leg from Burgun to Karayman (Krasnovodsk region) of a flight from Nebit-Dag to Karayman in support of a canal-building company, the crew flew a steep turn at low height in order to establish whether there was anybody in the hut at the airstrip. Pilots got distracted and lost control of the aircraft that crashed and was destroyed. A pilot and the passenger were killed while the second pilot was seriously injured.
Probable cause:
Loss of control at low altitude after the crew got distracted and attempted unusual manoeuvres.

Crash of a Tupolev G-2 in Kyzyl-Arvat: 6 killed

Date & Time: Aug 27, 1941 at 0225 LT
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-6 (TB-3 & G-2)
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L1996
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Tashkent – Ashgabat
MSN:
22 327
YOM:
1937
Location:
Kyzyl-Arvat
Balkan Province (Balkan welaýaty)
Country:
Turkmenistan
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Aircraft flight hours:
3118
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Tashkent on a cargo flight to Ashgabat, carrying three passengers and six crew members on behalf of the Central Asian Military District. Prior to departure from Tashkent Airport, the crew was informed that all bearings and lighting systems would be available upon arrival in Ashgabat. Nevertheless, while descending at night to Ashgabat, the crew was unable to locate the airport due to the blackout of the city. In such conditions, the crew decided to divert to Kyzyl-Arvat located in the Krasnovodsk district of Turkmenistan. On final approach, at a height of 70 metres, the airplane impacted the slope of a hill located 3 km south of the airport. Four crew members and two passengers were killed while three other occupants were seriously injured.
Probable cause:
The investigation revealed that in spite of the assurance given by the Air Force Command in Ashgabat, no activities have been conducted at the airport which was not accessible when the crew started the approach. This cause a confusion to the crew that lost his orientation.
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