Crash of a Polikarpov P-5 near Poplevino: 3 killed
Date & Time:
Feb 9, 1943
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-I172
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Myachkovo – Diaghilevo – Riazhsk – Michurinsk – Tambov – Buturlinovka – Ilovlinskaya – Leninsk – Kotelnikovo
MSN:
9227
YOM:
1934
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Aircraft flight hours:
2633
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Myachkovo Airport on a cargo flight to Kotelnikovo, carrying one passengers, two crew members and a load consisting of an engine and various instruments for a total weight of 273 kilos. On the leg from Ryazan (Diaghilevo) and Riazhsk, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with thick fog. In limited visibility, the pilot reduced his altitude when the airplane impacted the ground and crashed near the village of Poplevino. All three occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Lack of discipline on part of the pilot who violated the Flight Service Manual and failed to follow the squadron commander's orders. Having encountered fog on the Ryazan - Riazhsk route, the pilot failed to return to Myachkovo or Diaghilevo, as did four other pilots who had taken off at the same time on a similar routing, and continued the flight into the fog at low altitude, resulting in a collision with the ground. An indirect cause of the accident was an incorrect weather forecast (lack of fog data) due to the slow transmission of a storm warning from Riazhsk to Moscow and Myachkovo, received only at 1010LT, with a delay of 2 hours and 25 minutes after the fog formed and 1 hour 30 minutes after takeoff, due to a transmission delay by the communications (telegraph) service, despite a special instruction on the priority transmission of storm warning telegrams.
