Date & Time: Mar 9, 1968 at 1120 LT
Type of aircraft:
Ilyushin II-14
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-41840
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Tbilisi - Yerevan
MSN:
1470 015 04
YOM:
1957
Country:
Armenia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
13441
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Tbilisi Airport at 1039LT on a cargo flight to Yerevan, carrying five crew members and a load of various goods for a total weight of 2,394 kilos. The assigned altitude of 3,000 meters was reached 17 minutes later and the crew continued to the south under VFR mode. The airplane passed over Idzhevan VOR at 1108LT and six minutes later, the crew was cleared to descent to 1,800 meters by the approach ATC. Between 1116LT and 1119LT, the crew reported twice that the weather conditions deteriorated with low clouds and requested the permission to return to Tbilisi under VFR at 3,000 meters. A minute later, while cruising at the altitude of 2,265 meters, the left wing struck the west slope of Mt Getantag. The airplane continued for 130 meters then crashed in flames. The flight engineer was seriously injured while four other occupants were killed. Few hours later, the only survivor died from his injuries.
Probable cause:
The accident was the result of a controlled flight into terrain caused by the violation of navigation rules on part of the crew who was flying under VFR mode in limited visibility and below the minimum prescribed altitude.