Russia | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The airplane was supposed to drop supplies in Novo-Umyslichka but failed to arrive at destination. It crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in the Orel oblast. Lost without trace with its two crew members.

Crash of a Polikarpov S-3 near Vypolzovo: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 26, 1942

Type of aircraft:

Polikarpov Po-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L2728

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Zabor'e - Vypolzovo

MSN:

13045

YOM:

1938

Location:

Country:

Region:

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Circumstances:

The airplane failed to arrive in Vypolzovo and was lost without trace. The pilot was sole on board.

Crash of a Kochyerigin PS-43 in Sochi: 3 killed

Date & Time: Oct 23, 1942 at 1700 LT

Type of aircraft:

Kochyerigin PS-43

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L3029

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Sukhumi - Sochi

MSN:

536

YOM:

1940

Location:

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Circumstances:

Approaching Sochi-Adler Airport at the end of the afternoon, the airplane was shot down by two German fighters and crashed. Both crew members and the passenger were killed.

Probable cause:

Shot down by two German fighters. It was determined that the route Sukhumi - Sochi was forbidden during the day due to enemy action in the area. To conduct such flight, a crew should be accompanied with Soviet fighters. In the present case, the pilot decided to takeoff despite the fact that no fighters were available to convoy.

Crash of a Polikarpov U-2 in Pashchenkovo: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 23, 1942

Type of aircraft:

Polikarpov Po-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L99

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Urda - Kolobovka

MSN:

2340

YOM:

1942

Location:

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Circumstances:

The pilot departed Urda on a flight to Kolobovka with two other similar airplanes. En route, weather conditions worsened and the visibility was poor due to fog. Both other airplanes returned to Urda but the pilot of CCCP-L99 decided to continue. Lost, the pilot deviated from the prescribed route until the airplane crashed in a dense wooded area located in Polikarpov Po-2. The wreckage was found six days later on October 29. The pilot was killed.

Probable cause:

The pilot's lack of discipline, expressed in the fact that when he encountered fog, he did not return to the departure aerodrome or make the decision to land, but attempted to fly over the fog to the destination.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-4 near Anzhero-Sudzhensk: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 19, 1942 at 1725 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-4 (DB-3)

Operator:

Registration:

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Krasnoyarsk - Novosibirsk

MSN:

9408

YOM:

1942

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Aircraft flight hours:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Krasnoyarsk Airport at 0755LT on a flight to Novosibirsk with two crew members on board. It flew for about one hour and 10 minutes at an altitude of 400 metres and after all clouds disappeared, the pilot climbed to an altitude of 2,000 metres. At 1725LT, the airplane started to roll. The pilot ordered the mechanic to bail out and did the same shortly later. Out of control, the airplane dove into the ground and crashed some 10 km southeast of Anzhero-Sudzhensk. The pilot parachuted to safety but for unknown reasons, the mechanic remained on board and was killed.

Probable cause:

The cause of the accident was as follows:
- In-flight breakage of the right elevator trim rod, at the point where it is locked by a nut on the trim fork,
- Failure of the pilot to parry the pitch-up,
- When the airplane started to roll, the pilot was disoriented and missed the opportunity to take over control of the airplane. When the airplane started to loop, the increased load on the control column prevented him from controlling the airplane.

Crash of a Douglas A-20B Havoc in Markovo: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 14, 1942

Type of aircraft:

Douglas A-20 Havoc/DB-7 Boston

Operator:

Registration:

41-3094

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

MSN:

5424

YOM:

1941

Location:

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Region:

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Circumstances:

The airplane crashed on landing at Markovo Airfield and was destroyed. Both crew members were killed.
Crew:
Lt Alexander Dmitrievich Novgorodsky, pilot,
Cpt Nikifor Anisimovich Shvedov, navigator.

Crash of a North American B-25 Mitchell near Moscow: 5 killed

Date & Time: Oct 13, 1942

Type of aircraft:

North American B-25 Mitchell

Operator:

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

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Circumstances:

The airplane suffered an engine failure in flight and crashed near Moscow. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Makar Andreevich Migal, pilot,
Sgt Yuri Mitrofanovich Demin, copilot,
S/Lt Alexander Dzikovich Papava, navigator,
Sgt Nikolay Denisovich Lasitsa, radio operator,
Sgt Pyotr Filippovich Potravnov, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Engine failure in flight.

Crash of a Polikarpov AP in Ufa: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 10, 1942 at 0915 LT

Type of aircraft:

Polikarpov Po-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-A1120

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Meteorological / Weather

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Ufa - Ufa

MSN:

14292

YOM:

1939

Location:

Ufa

Republic of Bashkortostan

Country:

Russia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

1680

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Ufa Airport in the early morning on a weather data operation. After reaching the altitude of 3,500 metres, the pilot returned to the airport but the visibility deteriorated due to fog that developed about 40 minutes after takeoff. The pilot descended to a height of 110 metres to establish a visual contact with the airport. As this was not possible, he decided to climb when, at a height of about 170 metres, the airplane collided with the mast of a radio station. It partially disintegrated in the air and crashed near the airfield. Both occupants, a pilot and a meteorologist were killed.

Probable cause:

The accident was caused by the combination of the following factors:
- Lack of discipline on part of the pilot, who violated instructions and failed to comply with oral instructions from the head of Ufa Airport and his deputy, to divert to Birsk Airport or other nearby sites in the event of airport closure. Despite the airfield was covered with fog, the pilot attempted to land.
- The meteorologist on duty at the Ufa AMSG did not provide a precise weather forecast for the near future. The weather report given to the pilot indicated flying conditions, but 40 minutes after takeoff, the airfield was completely covered by rapidly approaching fog. The weather forecast was based on the 19-hour synoptic chart of 09OCT42, and the one-hour synoptic chart of 10OCT42 was not provided due to lack of data.
- Insufficient organization of atmospheric sounding flights at Ufa Airport, expressed by the fact that detailed instructions were not drawn up in the local instructions for conducting flights over the aerodrome.
- The real cause of the accident was the presence of obstacles on the aerodrome's approach runway (206 metres-high radio masts) which did not meet the requirements of the aerodrome's maintenance manual.

Crash of a Junkers JU.88A-4 in Varlamovo: 4 killed

Date & Time: Oct 9, 1942

Type of aircraft:

Junkers JU.88

Operator:

Registration:

4D+CR

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Site:

Location:

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Circumstances:

Crashed following an engine failure and destroyed in Varlamovo. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
Lt Hans Molzhahn, pilot,
Ogefr Hugo Hebelt, observer,
Uffz Hans Paulus, radio operator,
Gefr Herbert Umlauft, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Engine failure in flight.