Shalkar | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The crew was engaged in the control of gas compression stations n° 10, 11 and 12 located in the region of Shalkar. In the afternoon, the crew consumed alcohol and took off at 1745LT with two unauthorized people on board (a young couple who just got married). The crew made a short stop few minutes later to pick up three additional people who were invited to the wedding party. The crew continued the flight at an altitude of 100-150 meters. The visibility was poor because of night, mist and light rain. Several cars were parked at destination with light ON to allow the airplane to land. Unfortunately, the crew was unable to located precisely the landing area and decided to go-around. At a relative low height, the aircraft entered a nose-down attitude then banked right to an angle of 60° and crashed at a speed of 200 km/h in a field. At impact, all seven occupants were ejected and some of them were found 136 meters from the point of impact. The aircraft was destroyed and all seven occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the crew was intoxicated at the time of the accident. He was not authorized to perform such flight and did not have any qualification to fly by night. Also, there were five unauthorized passengers on board.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 on Mt Menshy Brat: 8 killed

Date & Time: Dec 8, 1942 at 0855 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lisunov LI-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L5805

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Delivery

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Tashkent – Shalkar – Aktyubinsk

MSN:

184 58 05

YOM:

1942

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Circumstances:

Built last December 2, the airplane was on its way from the Tashkent construction plant to Aktyubinsk via Shalkar, to be delivered to the Soviet Air Force. On board were three passengers and five crew members. Approaching the Mugodzhar Mountain Range and while cruising below the cloud layer, the crew realized that weather conditions deteriorated. The pilot increased his altitude and entered the clouds when the airplane encountered icing conditions. It lost height gradually until it impacted the south slope of Mt Menshy Brat (590 metres high). The wreckage was found two days later at an altitude of 520 metres and all eight occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The main cause of the accident was the captain's lack of discipline. Aware of the risk of icing conditions, he decided to continue flying through the clouds instead of returning to the departure airport. Investigations determined that at 0700LT, the Berchogur weather station had sent a weather report to the Shalkar station, indicating that the Mugodzhar Mountains were shrouded by clouds and then 'closed' for traffic. This bulletin was falsified by the telegraph operator, resulting in Shalkar receiving the message “mountains open.” This falsification of the message was considered as a contributory factor.

Crash of a Tupolev G-1 near Alga

Date & Time: Feb 18, 1941

Type of aircraft:

Tupolev ANT-4 (TB-1 & G-1)

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Ashkhabad – Tashkent – Shalkar – Aktyoubinsk – Moscow

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Circumstances:

The pilot departed Ashkhabad on a ferry flight to Moscow. He made a stop in Tashkent to pick up a passenger without prior permission. At Shalkar Airport, he was informed about the poor weather conditions en route to Aktyubinsk but decided to takeoff, again, without authorization. About an hour and 45 minutes into the flight, while flying in clouds, he lost control of the airplane that crashed in a prairie located 3 km from Alga Station, about 45 km southeast from Aktyubinsk. The aircraft was destroyed and both occupants were seriously injured.

Probable cause:

The decision of the pilot to takeoff without permission, knowing that weather conditions en route were unfavorable. It was also reported that the airplane was not equipped with any navigational instruments or any equipment that could allow the pilot to flight under IMC conditions.