Simferopol-Gvardeyskoye AFB | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

During the takeoff roll from Simferopol-Gvardeyskoye AFB, the captain started the rotation and the nose gear lifted up. At the same time, the left engine exploded. The captain decided to abandon the takeoff procedure and started an emergency braking procedure. Few seconds were necessary for the nose to land back on runway then the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran, lost its undercarriage and came to rest, bursting into flames. All 28 occupants were rescued, among them 3 were slightly injured. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire. Among those on board was the Admiral Vladimir Masorin of the Russian Navy who was flying back to Moscow following a general inspection of the military installations in Simferopol.

Probable cause:

Failure and explosion of the left engine at takeoff following a bird strike.

Crash of a Tachikawa Ki-77 into the Indian Ocean: 8 killed

Date & Time: Jul 8, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Tachikawa Ki-77

Operator:

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Singapore - Sarabus

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

After leaving Japan, the airplane made a stop in Singapore, last stop of a mission to Europe called 'Seiko'. The airplane departed Singapore at 0710LT on a flight to Sarabus (Gvardeyskoye AFB in Simferopol), Crimea. While cruising over the Indian Ocean, it crashed in unknown circumstances and was not recovered. All eight occupants were killed, five crew members and three military attachés.
Crew:
Juukou Nagatomo, pilot,
Hajime Kawasaki, copilot,
Kenji Tsukagoshi, flight engineer,
Noriyoshi Nagata, flight engineer,
Motohiko Kawashima, radio operator.
Passengers:
Col Yoshiaki Nishi,
Lt Col Shozou Nakamura,
Lt Col Takasuke Katori.

Probable cause:

The exact circumstances of the mishap remains unclear. It became known post-war that British intelligence was aware in advance of the mission and its route (via air grid squares 3420, 2560 and 2510), as a result of the ULTRA signals decryption project at Bletchley Park, which decoded German radio communications advising Sarabus of the projected arrival of the Ki-77. Thus, it is possible that the airplane was shot down by British fighter.