Leningrad oblast

Schedule:

Pushkin - Khabarovsk – Vladivostok

MSN:

7 66 004 02

YOM:

1957

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Eight seconds after liftoff from runway 21 at Pushkin AFB, while climbing to a height of about 50 meters in light snow, the airplane banked right, overturned then crashed in a huge explosion near the airport. All 50 occupants were killed. The aircraft was carrying many of the Pacific Fleet's senior officers from Leningrad, where they had been attending meetings with the naval command, to Vladivostok, via Khabarovsk. Among the dead were 16 admirals and generals, including the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Emil Spiridonov and his wife.

Probable cause:

The investigation of the accident revealed that the crew allowed the aircraft to be improperly loaded. Evidence was uncovered that led investigators to believe that some military officers did not comply with seating assignments given by the crew and that these officers pressured the crew to make the flight in an unsafely loaded aircraft. Another factor reported by witnesses was that large rolls of paper were loaded on board and it is believed that these rolled rearward during acceleration on take off, causing the center of gravity (CofG) to shift aft of acceptable limits thereby reducing the stability of the aircraft in pitch, making it impossible for the crew to lower the nose.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2 in Kingisepp

Date & Time: Sep 10, 1979

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-28837

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Site:

Plain, Valley

MSN:

1G04-06

YOM:

1961

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crashed following an engine failure. Occupant fate unknown.

Probable cause:

Engine failure.

Crash of a Let 410M in Leningrad: 10 killed

Date & Time: Aug 3, 1979 at 1156 LT

Type of aircraft:

Let L-410

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-67206

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Smolensk – Velikiye Luki – Leningrad

MSN:

76 05 09

YOM:

1976

Flight number:

SU1643

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

648

Aircraft flight cycles:

674

Circumstances:

On final approach to Leningrad-Rzhevka Airport, at a speed of 165 km/h, the right engine failed. The crew initiated a go-around maneuver and elected to feather the right propeller without success. The aircraft banked right to an angle of 25° then nosed down to an angle of 30° and crashed in flames in a wooded area located 500 meters short of runway threshold. The wreckage was found 550 meters to the right of the runway extended centerline. The aircraft was partially destroyed by a post crash fire and while four passengers were seriously injured, all 10 other occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

Failure of the right engine on final approach due to the destruction of the camshaft.

Crash of an Antonov AN-24B in Leningrad

Date & Time: Jan 13, 1976

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-24

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-47280

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Riga – Leningrad – Kirov

MSN:

0 73 064 10

YOM:

1970

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

11711

Aircraft flight cycles:

8920

Circumstances:

The crew was performing a flight from Riga to Kirov with an intermediate stop in Leningrad. The approach was started by night and below minima-weather conditions. On final approach, the aircraft dropped below the glide path and the captain switched off the ground proximity warning system so the aircraft hit tree tops some 1,700 metres before the inner marker, stalled and crashed in a wooded area located 2,165 metres before the runway threshold. All 5 crew members and 23 of the 39 passengers were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Probable cause:

The crew decided to complete the approach while the weather conditions were below minima. Following a wrong approach configuration, the captain allowed the aircraft to drop below the glide path and switched off the GPWS' alarm that was sounding in the cockpit, causing the aircraft to collide with trees and to crash.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18V in Leningrad: 109 killed

Date & Time: Apr 27, 1974 at 1807 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-18

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-75559

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Leningrad - Zaporozhie - Krasnodar

MSN:

186 0077 03

YOM:

1966

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

102

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

109

Aircraft flight hours:

18358

Aircraft flight cycles:

7501

Circumstances:

Less than three minutes after takeoff from Leningrad-Pulkovo Airport, while in initial climb, the crew informed ATC about the failure of the engine n°4, declared an emergency and was cleared to return. About three minutes later, the engine n°4 caught fire and exploded. On final, the airplane went out of control, nosed down by an angle of 60° and crashed in a huge explosion in an open field located 2,480 meters short of runway. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and most of the debris were found 242 meters to the right of the extended centerline. None of the 109 occupants survived the crash.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the third stage of the high pressure turbine disintegrated two minutes and 53 seconds after takeoff. The engine then exploded three minutes later and some debris impacted the right aileron that was jammed in a down position while the left aileron was in a up position. This asymmetric situation contributed to the loss of control on short final.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-104B in Leningrad: 2 killed

Date & Time: Apr 23, 1973 at 1506 LT

Type of aircraft:

Tupolev TU-104

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-42505

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Leningrad – Moscow

MSN:

0 2 19 03

YOM:

1960

Flight number:

SU2420

Location:

Leningrad-Shosseynaya

Leningrad oblast

Country:

Russia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

17095

Aircraft flight cycles:

10698

Circumstances:

After takeoff from Leningrad-Shosseinaya Airport, while cruising at an altitude of 7,800 meters, a stewardess informed the cockpit crew about a passenger who wanted to fly to Stockholm and was carrying a pistol and a hand grenade. After entering the cockpit, the hijacker stand by the flight engineer. The crew returned to Leningrad-Shosseinaya and on final approach, while at a height of 120-140 meters, the captain asked the copilot to lower the gear. When the hijacker realized they were flying back to Leningrad, he unpin the grenade that exploded in the cockpit, causing a huge hole in the fuselage. The hijacker and the flight engineer were killed while both pilots were slightly injured. 30 seconds later, the pilots were able to land the airplane at a speed of 310 km/h. After touchdown, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane slid for several dozen meters before coming to a halt. All 55 other occupants were uninjured while the aircraft was not repaired.

Probable cause:

Hijacked after takeoff and severely damaged by the explosion of a grenade and the failure of the nose gear after landing.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18V in Leningrad: 6 killed

Date & Time: Dec 31, 1970 at 1637 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-18

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-75773

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Leningrad - Yerevan

MSN:

181 0036 03

YOM:

1961

Flight number:

SU3012

Location:

Leningrad-Shosseynaya

Leningrad oblast

Country:

Russia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

13760

Aircraft flight cycles:

6733

Circumstances:

The takeoff from Leningrad-Shosseynaya Airport was performed in low clouds and snow falls. After liftoff at a speed of 250 km/h, the airplane climbed to a height of 30-50 meters when it adopted an excessive nose-up attitude and banked left and right. In a high angle of attack, it continued on a distance of 5,300 meters when it lost height, causing the base of the tail to struck the ground. Out of control, it crashed at a speed of 200 km/h in a snow covered field, rolled for about 210 meters and came to rest 290 meters to the right of the extended centerline. Five crew members and a policeman, Major by the Interior Ministry of the Republic of Armenia were killed while 26 other occupants were injured, some of them seriously. 54 other occupants escaped uninjured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Probable cause:

Due to poor flight preparation and lack of coordination, the crew failed to follow the pre-takeoff checklist and failed to deploy the flaps prior to departure, according to the published procedures. It appears that the crew precipitated the takeoff manoeuvre, which was considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Leningrad: 1 killed

Date & Time: Feb 17, 1970 at 1850 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lisunov LI-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-21504

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Leningrad - Minsk - Kiev

MSN:

2 34 416 10

YOM:

1952

Location:

Leningrad-Shosseynaya

Leningrad oblast

Country:

Russia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

7123

Circumstances:

The aircraft was engaged in a cargo flight from Leningrad to Kiev with an intermediate stop in Minsk-1, carrying a load of 1,151 kg of glue. Following a normal takeoff roll, the pilot-in-command started the rotation at a speed of 130 km/h. Immediately after liftoff, the aircraft had a tendency to veer left so the pilot compensate to the right when the tail wheel struck the ground 35 meters to the left of the runway and was torn off. The airplane continued for dozen meters then crashed into the snow some 245 meters to the left of the runway. All six occupants were seriously injured and the aircraft was destroyed. Few hours later, the radio operator died from his injuries.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the loss of control was the consequence of an overloaded aircraft by 687 kilos. The following factors were considered as contributing:
- The rotation was completed at an insufficient speed considering the total weight of the aircraft,
- The airplane was trimmed 3° down prior to takeoff,
- The CofG was far aft,
- The copilot and the flight engineer were overduty,
- Reception, delivery and loading of cargo were made by the copilot and the flight engineer which adversely affected their working capabilities during takeoff.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-124 in Leningrad

Date & Time: Aug 21, 1963 at 1215 LT

Type of aircraft:

Tupolev TU-124

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-45021

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors: