Yeysk | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

While descending to Yeysk Airport, the crew proceeded to a fuel transfer from the auxiliary tanks to the main central tank. Shortly later, all four engines stopped almost simultaneously. The aircraft lost height and crashed in the Azov Sea fe km off Yeysk Airport. 25 occupants were killed and 25 others were rescued.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the main central tank had not been drained or cleaned since a long time and a large quantity of water was still present. When the fuel was transferred from the auxiliary tanks to the main central tank, it mixed with water that contaminated the fuel lines, causing all four engines to fail.

Crash of a Savoia-Marchetti S.55 near Volsk: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jul 12, 1933 at 1130 LT

Type of aircraft:

Savoia-Marchetti S.55

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-N11

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Sevastopol – Yeysk – Volsk – Sverdlovsk – Omsk – Novosibirsk – Krasnoyarsk – Irkutsk – Vitim – Yakutsk – Nogaevo – Cape Severny

MSN:

10526

YOM:

1933

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

Aircraft flight cycles:

Circumstances:

The seaplane departed Sevastopol on a flight to Cape Severny with several en route stops, carrying one passenger (one journalist from the Komsomolskaya Pravda) and four crew members. On the leg from Yeysk to Volsk, while flying over the Volga River at a speed of 175-200 km/h and at a height of about 10-15 metres, the airplane encountered a cold front, lost altitude and crashed into the river, some 300 metres from the shore. Fishermen were able to rescue two crew members while three other occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The accident was the consequence of the combination of a flight at a too low altitude and a subsequent impact with water due to particular local weather conditions.