Country
code

Moscow oblast

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Moscow: 6 killed

Date & Time: Sep 4, 1948 at 0352 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4498
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow – Kharkiv – Zaporozhie – Simferopol
MSN:
44 09
YOM:
0
Flight number:
SU253
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
20
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Aircraft flight hours:
113
Circumstances:
Takeoff from Moscow-Bykovo Airport was completed by night. Shortly after liftoff, during the initial climb, the captain ordered to switch off the landing light and to raise the undercarriage. The aircraft encountered problems to gain height and banked left, causing the left engine and its propeller to hit the ground. After a course of some 150 meters, the aircraft hit a telephone pole and wires and then crashed in flames in a garden. Five passengers and the radio operator were killed while 8 other people were injured, some of them seriously. The remaining then occupants were unhurt. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the pilot in command suffered a spatial disorientation shortly after liftoff when the landing light was switched off. Due to the absence of ground visual reference and the poor visibility caused by night, the pilot lost his orientation and the control of the aircraft. It was also determined that the crew was tired at the time of the accident because he accumulated more than 11 flying hours per day during the last three days prior to the accident. Also, the lack of assistance on part of the copilot was considered as a contributory factor.

Crash of a Douglas C-47 near Moscow-Vnukovo

Date & Time: Dec 18, 1947
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L997
Flight Type:
Schedule:
Moscow-Vnukovo - Moscow-Vnukovo
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a test flight following modification on the engines by GVF (Grazhdansky Vozdushnyi Flot). The final approach to Vnukovo Airport was completed in low visibility due to foggy conditions, when the aircraft hit a hill and crashed about 10 km northeast of the airport. The occupant fate remains unknown.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 in Taldom

Date & Time: Dec 1, 1947
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-N439
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Kimry-Borki - Moscow
MSN:
30 047
YOM:
1947
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a positioning flight from Kimry-Borki to Moscow-Zakharkovo. Few minutes after takeoff, the left engine lost oil pressure and power. The captain elected to make an emergency landing but the aircraft crashed in a wooded area located in Taldom, about 13 km southeast of Borki Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all five crew members were injured. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were poor with a cloud base at 100 meters and an horizontal visibility limited to two km. It appears that the crew did not receive any permission to complete this positioning flight to Moscow.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the oil leak and loss of power and the left engine was caused by a faulty assembly and wrong installation. Also, the left engine has not been properly tested after installation. The oil leak caused the failure of a pump and then a loss of power on the left engine. Inappropriate reaction and poor techniques on part of the crew was considered as a contributory factor.

Crash of a North American B-25C Mitchell in Klyazma: 5 killed

Date & Time: Sep 6, 1947 at 1521 LT
Registration:
CCCP-M345
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow - Koltushi
MSN:
82-5183
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
460
Circumstances:
The airplane was on a delivery flight from Moscow to Leningrad-Koltushi Airport and has to be transferred from the Soviet Air Force to the Russian Hydro and Meteo Services (Gidrometeosluzhba). Shortly after takeoff, while climbing, the left engine caught fire. The pilot in command elected to make an emergency landing but smoke spread in the cockpit and the crew lost control of the aircraft that crashed in Klyazma. Three crew members, one passenger and one person on the ground were killed while three others were injured (one crew, one passenger and one person on the ground). The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
Fire on the left engine caused by the failure of a connecting rod for undetermined reason. This caused the piston of the 11th cylinder to brake.

Crash of a Douglas A-20C-10-DO Havoc in Naberezhnaya: 5 killed

Date & Time: Aug 5, 1947
Registration:
CCCP-M187
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Moscow - Moscow
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
258
Aircraft flight cycles:
338
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a local training flight in Moscow. While flying at an altitude of 400-450 meters, the crew initiated an engine failure when the aircraft lost speed while performing a steep turn to the left. The aircraft went upside down and crashed in Naberezhnaya, in the suburb of Moscow. All five occupants were killed. It was reported that both passengers were illegal.
Probable cause:
Inappropriate reaction of the pilot and poor techniques while performing a steep turn to the left, causing the aircraft to stall and to crash.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12P in Moscow-Vnukovo

Date & Time: Jul 1, 1947 at 0928 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L1317
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow – Kharkiv – Sochi – Tbilisi
MSN:
30 023
YOM:
1947
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Aircraft flight hours:
73
Aircraft flight cycles:
68
Circumstances:
One minute after takeoff, while climbing at a height of some 50 metres, the aircraft banked left to an angle of 30°, lost speed and altitude, then hit tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located 3 km from the airport. Four crew members were killed while a fifth crew and the passenger were seriously injured.
Probable cause:
Failure of the left engine caused by a faulty valve.

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

Date & Time: Nov 5, 1946 at 1855 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4207
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Vilnius – Moscow
MSN:
184 209 08
YOM:
0
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
22
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
1290
Circumstances:
On approach to Moscow-Vnukovo Airport, the crew was instructed to stack over the area due to poor weather conditions. Four times, the pilot attempted to land, but was forced to make a go around. After 75 minutes, the pilot informed ATC he was short of fuel and was assisted because one of the radio-compass was out of service. On final approach, both engines failed simultaneously and the aircraft stalled and crashed few hundred yards short of runway. A passenger was killed while all other occupants were rescued. The aircraft was written off. Most of the passenger were flying to Moscow to take part in celebrations of the October Revolution.
Probable cause:
Double engine failure caused by fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-5-DK in Moscow: 13 killed

Date & Time: Nov 5, 1946 at 1830 LT
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L946
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Berlin – Riga – Moscow
MSN:
14572/26017
YOM:
16
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
22
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
13
Aircraft flight hours:
1675
Circumstances:
On approach to Moscow, the crew was instructed to stack over the airport due to poor weather conditions. More than two hours later, the crew informed ATC that he was short of fuel and received the permission to attempt to land. On final approach, by low visibility due to foggy conditions, the captain was unable to locate the runway and decided to make a go around. The airplane climbed to a height of 15 meters and then stalled and crashed in a wooded area located 700 meters short of runway threshold. Thirteen passengers were killed while 13 other occupants were injured. Most of the passenger were flying to Moscow to take part in celebrations of the October Revolution.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Yamshchina: 5 killed

Date & Time: Nov 5, 1946 at 1807 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L4181
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Achkhabad – Voronezh – Moscow
MSN:
184 200 06
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
1517
Circumstances:
The flight from Voronezh to Moscow-Vnukovo was cancelled due to poor weather in Voronezh. Eventually, the crew left Voronezh two days later on a ferry flight to Moscow. On approach, weather conditions were poor and the crew was forced to stack over the area. More than two hours later, the crew informed ATC that he was short of fuel and requested an immediate landing when the aircraft crashed in Yamshchina, about 12 km northwest of Vnukovo Airfield. All five crew members were killed. At the time of the accident, 17 other aircraft were stacking in the area and awaiting for weather improvement to land in Vnukovo Airport.
Probable cause:
Fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-20-DK in Bakovka: 5 killed

Date & Time: Mar 22, 1946 at 1209 LT
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L893
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Moscow – Minsk – Berlin
MSN:
13096
YOM:
23
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
1581
Circumstances:
About five minutes after takeoff from Moscow-Vnukovo Airport, while climbing to a height of some 150 meters, the aircraft banked left, dove into the ground and crashed 800 meters south of Bukovka. All five crew members were killed. They were performing a cargo flight to Berlin with an intermediate stop in Minsk, carrying a load of newspapers for a total weight of 2,350 kilos.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. However, investigators reported that the loss of control may have been caused by an excessive accumulation of ice on the carburetors or on the Pitot tubes or on the windshield or on all three simultaneously.