Kursk oblast | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The crew was completing a cargo flight from Novosibirsk to Kursk with intermediate stops at Chelyabinsk and Kuybyshev. Following several errors, the crew started the approach to Kursk-Vostoshny Airport with a wrong approach track. Despite the aircraft was not properly aligned on the localizer and the pilot-in-command did not have any visual contact with approach and/or runway lights, he decided to continue the approach. The airplane descended below the glide then struck trees and crashed in flames in a wooded area located 420 meters short of runway threshold and 250 meters to the left of its extended centerline. The aircraft was destroyed and all five occupants were injured.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the crew adopted a wrong approach configuration, causing the aircraft to follow a wrong approach path and descending below the decision height until it struck obstacles and crashed. The following contributing factors were reported:
- Poor crew coordination,
- Poor flight preparation,
- Crew fatigue due to multiple landings that day,
- The pilot-in-command failed to initiate a go-around,
- Lack of vertical and horizontal visibility due to low clouds, mist and drizzle.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2 in Fateyevka

Date & Time: Nov 2, 1980

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-82906

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Spraying (Agricultural)

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

MSN:

1G169-23

YOM:

1976

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crashed in unknown circumstances in a field located in Fateyevka. Both occupants were slightly injured and the aircraft was written off.

Probable cause:

It is believed the accident was the consequence of a distracted crew.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2SKh near Kursk: 1 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1976 at 0950 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-33170

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Spraying (Agricultural)

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Kursk - Kursk

MSN:

1145 473 04

YOM:

1960

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

7750

Aircraft flight cycles:

22756

Circumstances:

On a crop spraying flight for the kolkhoz (collective farm) "Oktyabr" at Besedino (Kursk district of the Kursk region) when lifted off at low speed after a take off run of 300 metres (the crew had neglected the influence of the tail/cross wind). The aircraft stalled at a height of some 10-15 metres and crashed 235 metres behind the runway threshold, about 15 km east of Kursk. A pilot was killed while the second occupant was seriously injured.

Probable cause:

Premature liftoff on part of the pilot-in-command.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R in Kursk: 1 killed

Date & Time: Apr 2, 1975 at 1418 LT

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-29374

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Spraying (Agricultural)

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Kursk - Kursk

MSN:

1G79-05

YOM:

1970

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Copilot / Total flying hours:

Aircraft flight hours:

6185

Aircraft flight cycles:

24233

Circumstances:

The crew was engaged in a crop spraying flight from Kursk for the kolkhoz (collective farm) im. Karla Marksa in the Kursk district of the Kursk region. The crew failed to use the full length of the runway for takeoff and tried to climb out too steeply, losing speed and height. The captain extended the flaps to 37° while flying low over a forest behind the airport's perimeter, causing additional loss of speed and height so the aircraft touched tree tops, crashed in the forest 100 metres further on (1,890 metres behind the runway threshold), caught fire and burnt out. The copilot was injured while the captain was killed.

Probable cause:

Poor flight preparation and wrong takeoff configuration on part of the pilot-in-command (captain). He failed to use the full runway length and started the rotation at an insufficient speed with en engine running too low. With flaps at 37°, this caused the airplane to adopt a nose-up attitude and a high angle of attack. The relative low experience of the copilot (90 flying hours) was considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 in Kursk

Date & Time: May 11, 1973

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-05915

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

MSN:

6 004 09

YOM:

1966

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The engine failed in flight, forcing the crew to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft crash landed and was damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties.

Probable cause:

Engine failure.

Crash of an Antonov AN-24B in Kursk

Date & Time: Nov 4, 1972

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-24

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-46202

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Positioning

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Kuybyshev – Kursk – Moscow

MSN:

6 73 027 01

YOM:

1966

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was performing a positioning flight from Kuybyshev to Moscow with an intermediate stop in Kursk. He started the approach by night and snow falls. In poor visibility, the aircraft dropped below the glide and hit tree tops some 2,500 meters before the inner marker. The aircraft stalled and crashed in flames in a wooded area. While the aircraft was destroyed, all three crew members were unhurt.

Probable cause:

Wrong approach configuration on part of the crew.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 in Polukotelnikovo: 8 killed

Date & Time: Aug 20, 1949 at 1730 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-12

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1434

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Tbilisi – Kharkiv – Moscow

MSN:

30 266

YOM:

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

553

Circumstances:

The crew departed Kharkiv Airport in the afternoon bound to the north at an assigned altitude of 1,200 meters. While arriving in the region of Belgorod, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls and turbulences. The crew modified his route several times to avoid the cloud and the thunderstorm activity and the captain decided to reduce his altitude to 400 meters to fly below the cloud layer. After 45 minutes, the aircraft encountered heavy turbulences, went to a nose down attitude and eventually crashed at a speed of 360 km/h in a field. Three crew members and five passengers were killed while three other occupants were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Probable cause:

Loss of control due to heavy turbulences encountered in thunderstorm activity. It was reported that all informations transmitted to the crew from the meteorological services were unsuitable and did not reflect the truth. There was a lack of organisation by the meteorological services and lack of seriousness in the weather prediction.