Crash of a Douglas A-20B-DL Havoc near Verkhoyansk: 3 killed

Date & Time: Mar 25, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Douglas A-20 Havoc/DB-7 Boston
Operator:
Registration:
15585
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Seymchan - Yakutsk
Location:
Verkhoyansk
Republic of Yakutia (Sakha)
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
En route from Seymchan to Yakutsk, while cruising at an altitude of 17,000 feet, the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed near Verkhoyansk. All three crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
The presumed cause of the accident is the pilot's loss of consciousness. His unfortunate decision to fly at 17,000 feet, an altitude at which he should have relied solely on instruments, led to rapid fatigue due to poor visibility. Visibility would not have been worse between 10,000 and 12,000 feet, but his oxygen requirements would have been lower, which might not have caused him to lose consciousness.

Crash of a Douglas A-20B-DL Havoc near Kirensk: 3 killed

Date & Time: Mar 24, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Douglas A-20 Havoc/DB-7 Boston
Operator:
Registration:
13887
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Yakutsk - Kirensk
Location:
Kirensk
Irkutsk oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
On a flight from Yakutsk to Kirensk, approaching the destination, weather conditions worsened. The captain reduced his altitude in an attempt to establish a visual contact with the ground when the airplane impacted the slope of a mountain. As the airplane failed to arrive at destination, SAR operations were initiated and the wreckage was later found 18 km from Kirensk. All three crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.
The following contributing factors were identified:
- Decision of the crew to fly without radio,
- The crew has not been informed about the deterioration of the weather conditions,
- Lack of discipline on part of the pilot who decided to continue the flight below the cloud layer,
- The hill was probably shrouded in clouds and could not been seen and avoided by the crew.

Crash of a GVF PS-84 in Berdigestyakh: 3 killed

Date & Time: Mar 5, 1943 at 0520 LT
Type of aircraft:
GVF PS-84
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L3913
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Yakutsk – Olyokminsk
MSN:
184 12 04
YOM:
1941
Location:
Berdigestyakh
Republic of Yakutia (Sakha)
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
6
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
On a flight from Yakutsk to Olyokminsk, while cruising at a height of some 150 metres, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy snowfalls. Shortly later, both engines lost power and the aircraft lost height, hit trees and crashed in a wooded area located near the village of Berdigestyakh. Three crew members were killed, another crew member and one passenger were injured while six other passengers were unhurt. One of them walked away to find help. Eleven days later, rescuers arrived on scene to evacuate the seven other survivors.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the dual engine failure could not be determined with certainty. However, it is believed it was caused by the fact that the carburetor failed due to icing, or the crew (captain or flight engineer) failed to activate the carburetor heating system. It was also reported that the decision of the captain to fly at low altitude was wrong and, at the time of the accident, the flight engineer was intoxicated.

Crash of a Tupolev PS-7 in Aldan: 1 killed

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
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Aldan - Yakutsk
MSN:
22260
YOM:
1934
Location:
Aldan
Republic of Yakutia (Sakha)
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
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.

Crash of a Douglas A-20 Havoc near Arkagala: 3 killed

Date & Time: Nov 20, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Douglas A-20 Havoc/DB-7 Boston
Operator:
Registration:
41-3319
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Seymchan - Yakutsk
MSN:
5649
YOM:
1941
Location:
Arkagala
Magadan oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Seymchan on a flight to Yakutsk with a crew of three on board. It was part of a group of three Havoc transferred to Yakutsk. En route, weather conditions deteriorated with icing. A first airplane diverted to Oymyakon, a second landed safely in Yakutsk and 41-3319 crashed in a mountains area near Arkagala. The pilot and the radio operator were killed in the airplane and the dead body of the navigator was later found few km from the crash site after he bailed out.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the pilot attempted an emergency landing in hilly terrain while flying in poor weather conditions with a limited visibility due to snow falls. While cruising in icing conditions, the crew failed to activate the deicing equipment and did not activate the heating system for the Pitot tube and the carburetor. The failure of the speed indicator, engine vibrations and airframe icing forced the pilot to attempt an emergency landing.

Crash of a Tupolev PS-7 off Churan: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 24, 1941 at 1615 LT
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-7 (PS-7)
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L1478
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Churan - Yakutsk
MSN:
3166
YOM:
1940
Location:
Churan
Republic of Yakutia (Sakha)
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The floatplane was departing Churan on a service to Irkutsk, carrying seven passengers and a crew of four. Shortly after takeoff from the hydrobase of Churan, while climbing to a height of 10-12 metres, the floatplane entered a high angle of attack, pitched up then the left wing stalled and the aircraft crashed into the Lena River. While all four crew members were able to evacuate the cockpit and to swim to shore, all seven occupants drowned after the airplane sank.
Probable cause:
Failure of the pilot to position correctly the stabilizers prior to takeoff and his failure to reject the takeoff procedure while the aircraft was unstable.
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