Date & Time:
Dec 14, 1942 at 1103 LT
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-7 (PS-7)
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L3757
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Aldan - Yakutsk
MSN:
22260
YOM:
1934
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
1134
Circumstances:
The crew received the instruction to takeoff from the north at Aldan Airport. At the time of the accident, there was a light wind component from the south and weather conditions were considered as good. For unknown reasons, the captain initiated the takeoff procedure from the south. The runway was 1,200 metres long and consisted of compacted snow. During the takeoff roll, the airplane deviated from the runway path and at a speed of 115 km/h, overran and went through a 50-60 cm high snow covered field before taking off. It continued to climb and passed just over a hill of 150 metres located some 2 km from the runway end when it collided with trees and crashed 2,5 km from the airport. The captain was killed and four other occupants were injured.
Probable cause:
The main cause of the accident was the pilot's lack of discipline, which led to a serious violation of Article 41 of the Flight Service Manual during takeoff, as he did not abort the takeoff when the airplane deviated by more than 15° during takeoff. The pilot, who was small, was forced to lean forward significantly in his cockpit. This distracted him from monitoring the direction of takeoff.
