Crash of a Tupolev PS-35bis near Shamakhi: 5 killed
Date & Time:
Nov 11, 1942 at 1300 LT
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L2483
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Baku – Tbilisi
MSN:
2/0
YOM:
1938
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Baku-Bina Airport at 1245LT on a special flight to Tbilisi. On board were five crew members and a technician from the Air Force. About 15 minutes into the flight, while cruising at an altitude of 800 metres in clouds, the airplane hit the slope of a mountain (900 metres high) located near the city of Shamakhi, just above the Dzheirankechmaz River. The passenger and the copilot were injured while four other crew members were killed. The copilot died the following day from injuries sustained.
Probable cause:
The accident was caused by the pilot's failure to follow a safe flight path. The flight took place over mountainous, cloud-covered terrain, instead of over flat ground where the cloud height would have allowed a visual flight. What's more, the route chosen by the pilot was not foreseen in the weather forecast he had been given. Controlled flight into terrain.
