Orel oblast | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

While on a flight from Moscow to Bryansk on behalf of the army, the airplane crashed in unknown circumstances near Sankt Navlya. It is believed that two crew members were killed and three others became PoW.

Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 near Optukha: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jun 6, 1934 at 0115 LT

Type of aircraft:

Polikarpov P-5

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L787

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Moscow - Kharkiv

MSN:

5684

YOM:

1932

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

313

Aircraft flight cycles:

185

Circumstances:

The aircraft departed Moscow at 2255LT on June 5 on a night mail flight to Kharkiv, carrying one pilot and a load of 728 kilos of mail. While cruising at a height of 50 metres over the valley of Oka, weather conditions deteriorated with heavy clouds, drizzle and low ceiling. After completing two turns, the pilot did not realize he lost too much altitude when the airplane impacted ground and crashed in a field located 5 km south of Optukha. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot, sole on board, was killed.

Probable cause:

Controlled flight into terrain following an error of judgement on part of the pilot regarding the aircraft's altitude during a flight through difficult weather conditions. A poor flight planning was considered as a contributing factor.