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Crash of a Tupolev TU-104A in Ust-Orda: 3 killed

Date & Time: Oct 21, 1960 at 2114 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-42452
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow – Omsk – Irkutsk – Khabarovsk
MSN:
9 66 017 01
YOM:
10
Flight number:
SU005
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
61
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Aircraft flight hours:
1071
Circumstances:
On the leg from Omsk to Irkutsk, at a distance of 160 km from the destination, the crew was informed about the deterioration of the weather conditions at Irkutsk Airport and was then diverted to Ust-Orda Airport. At this time, weather at Ust-Orda was as follow: cloud base at 250 meters, snow falls and a visibility of 3 km. On approach by night, the nose gear light was unserviceable so the captain decided to make a go around. For unknown reason, this procedure was delayed and he completed a low pass over the runway for about two km before making a turn to the left at a height of 10-15 meters when the airplane struck power cables. The aircraft stalled and crashed in flames on a hilly terrain near the airport. 46 passengers were uninjured while 19 occupants were injured. Three crew members were killed, the navigator, the radio operator and the mechanic. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire.
Probable cause:
The decision of the captain to perform a go around was comprehensive but the very low pass (10-15 meters) above the runway was unacceptable. Investigations were able to determine that weather conditions at Irkutsk Airport were not as bad and the decision of the ATC to divert the crew to Ust-Orda was not necessary. Also, it was the first time that the pilot was flying to Ust-Orda and he did not have any knowledge about the environment at this airport, which was considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14P in Brest: 1 killed

Date & Time: Sep 26, 1960
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-41866
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow – Moguilev – Minsk – Brest
MSN:
1460 007 04
YOM:
1956
Flight number:
SU607
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
21
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
6363
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Minsk Airport at 1245LT bound for Brest. While cruising at an altitude of 9,000 feet, the crew noted that the oil temperature on the right engine increased while the temperature of the second breech dropped. In such situation, the captain decided to shot down the right engine, feathered its propeller and continued to Brest. At 1405LT, he notified his situation to ATC and started the descent to Brest Airport in marginal weather conditions. On final approach, at an altitude of 40 meters, the undercarriage and flaps were lowered when the captain was instructed to go around. For unknown reason, he continued the approach and the right main gear touched down 390 meters past the runway threshold. The left main gear touched down 73 meters farther and after a course of 930 meters, the airplane overran and collided with the ILS antenna before coming to rest in flames. All 21 passengers were injured while five crew members were seriously wounded. The board mechanic died from his injuries five hours later. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
The right engine has to be shut down in flight because of the failure of the second cylinder due to a manufacture defect. Following poor techniques on part of the captain, the approach configuration on one engine was wrong and the third turn on final was completed too late. Marginal weather conditions, a wet runway surface and a limited visibility were considered as contributing factors.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14 on Mt Belaya: 18 killed

Date & Time: Sep 2, 1960 at 1710 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-04200
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Mys Shmidta – Perek – Cherski – Chokurdakh – Tiksi – Khatanga – Dikson – Amderma – Arkhangelsk – Cherepovets – Moscow
MSN:
1470 014 18
YOM:
17
Flight number:
SU804
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
13
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
18
Aircraft flight hours:
3580
Circumstances:
The aircraft was performing a special flight from Mys Schmidta to Moscow with polar researchers from the Soviet Air Force on board. On the leg from Arkhangelsk to Cherepovets, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and was flying at an insufficient altitude when the airplane struck the slope of Mt Belaya located in the region of Fedorovskaya, about 315 km southwest of Arkhangelsk. The aircraft was destroyed and all 18 occupants have been killed. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were as follow: visibility 4 km below cloud layer at 300 meters, fog, wind at 10 km/h and rain.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the captain decided to continue the flight at an insufficient altitude in poor weather conditions (below minima). Informations related to weather conditions were incomplete, which was considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18B in Tarasovichi: 34 killed

Date & Time: Aug 17, 1960 at 1558 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-75705
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Cairo – Moscow
MSN:
189 0017 02
YOM:
29
Flight number:
SU036
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
27
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
34
Aircraft flight hours:
407
Aircraft flight cycles:
117
Circumstances:
While flying over the region of Kiev, the crew contacted ATC about a fire on engine number 4 and requested the permission to divert to Borispol Airport. Due to the position of the aircraft, ATC vectored the crew to Zhulyani Airport. Shortly later, while on descent, the engine number four detached and the fire spread to the right wing. Out of control, the airplane entered a dive and crashed in flames in a near vertical attitude in a wooded area located in Tarasovichi, about 41 km north of Zhulyani Airport. The airplane disintegrated on impact and all 34 occupants were killed, among them 4 Yemen, 5 Algerians, one Ugandan and one Afghan. The five Algerians were Mustapha Ferroukhi, ambassador of FLN in Peking travelling with his wife and three children. The Ugandan citizen was John Muhima Kalekezi, president of the Uganda National Congress who was travelling to Moscow for a meeting with Nikita Khrushchev.
Probable cause:
A leak on a fuel injector caused the fuel to flow in the engine nacelle and to ignite while in contact with high temperature equipment. The fire spread to the combustion chamber, causing the engine to catch fire, to fail and eventually to detach.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 in Minsk: 8 killed

Date & Time: Jul 21, 1960 at 0032 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-01405
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Leningrad – Vilnius – Minsk – Lviv
MSN:
83012902
YOM:
1949
Flight number:
SU414
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
24
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Aircraft flight hours:
13706
Circumstances:
After a course of 750 meters at Minsk Airport, the pilot-in-command completed the rotation. Due to an insufficient speed, the airplane climbed with a high angle off attack and was quite immediately in a nose high attitude and in stall conditions. The airplane struck the ground four times then hit power cables before crashing on a truck parking lot. The aircraft was destroyed and all four crew members and four passengers were killed. The rest of the occupants were injured.
Probable cause:
Wrong takeoff configuration on part of the flying crew who started the rotation at an insufficient speed, causing the aircraft to be in a high angle of attack and in stall conditions immediately after liftoff. The fact that the runway was soggy was considered as a contributing factor because this slow down the airplane during the takeoff procedure to due an excessive accumulation of water on the lower part of the wing, reducing the aerodynamic capabilities.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14M near Syktyvkar: 23 killed

Date & Time: Jul 20, 1960 at 1230 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-61696
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Leningrad – Cherepovets – Syktyvkar
MSN:
1470 010 35
YOM:
1957
Flight number:
SU613
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
19
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
23
Aircraft flight hours:
5505
Circumstances:
The flight was performed at 3,000 meters under VFR mode above clouds. But while approaching Syktyvkar, weather conditions worsened with thunderstorm activity. The crew elected to modify his route to avoid this poor weather area when control was lost. The airplane entered a dive, lost its both wings and eventually crashed in flames in a dense wooded area located 87 km southwest of the Syktyvkar Airport. The wreckage was found 11 days later, on July 31. The airplane was completely destroyed and all 23 occupants were killed. The right wing and the right engine were found 80 meters from the main fuselage.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the loss of control was caused by the combination of strong atmospheric turbulences and vertical downdraft encountered while the aircraft was flying in a low pressure area. During the dive, excessive G loads caused the wings to detach and the aircraft became totally uncontrollable. The lack of assistance on part of the meteorology services was considered as a contributing factor as no one transmitted any information to the crew about the deterioration of the weather conditions and the presence of a thunderstorm on the flight path.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 near Aldan: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jul 5, 1960 at 0445 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-98282
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
MSN:
1101 473 09
YOM:
0
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Aircraft flight hours:
1896
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a geophysical survey flight in the west part of Aldan, Yakutia. At the end of the mission, the crew was returning to the east and while flying face to the sun at a height of 1,046 meters, the single engine aircraft struck tree tops and crashed in flames in a dense wooded area located about 145 km west of Aldan. The captain and the flight engineer were killed instantly. The flight operator and the navigator were injured and walked away to find help. After four km walk, the navigator died from his injuries and his body was found thirteen days later on July 18. The flight operator eventually find help and was evacuated to a local hospital. At the time of the accident, the visibility was reduced to one km due to clouds.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the crew failed to take into consideration the high OAT ( 23°) and its effect on the rate of climb and the airplane's performances. Also, the following factors were considered as contributing:
- The crew failed to make any reconnaissance flight prior to the mission,
- Flying against the sun,
- Poor flight preparation.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14P in Tkvarcheli: 31 killed

Date & Time: Jun 10, 1960 at 1055 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-91571
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Rostov-on-Don – Krasnodar – Sochi – Sukhumi – Kutaisi – Tbilisi
MSN:
7 34 31 07
YOM:
7
Flight number:
SU207
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
24
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
31
Aircraft flight hours:
5423
Circumstances:
After his departure from Sukhumi Airport, the crew continued to the southeast bound for Kutaisi at an altitude of 1,200 meters when poor weather conditions were encountered with clouds from 600 to 1,000 meters. Following a navigation error, the aircraft deviated 17 km to the north when it struck trees and crashed in flames on the north slope of Mt Rech (1,436 meters high) located near Tkvarcheli. The wreckage was found a day later. The airplane was completely destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 31 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the accident was the consequence of a navigation error on part of the crew, causing the aircraft to be off track by 17 km to the north. The following factors were considered as contributing:
- The crew was hastily fixed the day prior to the accident on a complexe routing,
- In spite of this complexity, the operations of the company failed to join a navigator to the crew, either a mechanic,
- Poor flight preparation,
- Poor weather assessment,
- The crew failed to make fix point after his departure from Sukhumi,
- Absence of radio monitoring on part of the Sukhumi services,
- Meteorologists failed to inform the pilots about the wind component and the weather conditions along the route,
- Shortcomings were noted with ATC services as the person in charge to follow the plane was a trainee who was not authorized to work independently. It was noted that for 20 minutes (a period corresponding to a distance of 100 km), the crew did not receive any ATC messages about his position or flight path.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Enken: 5 killed

Date & Time: May 5, 1960 at 1614 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-84609
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur – Okhotsk – Magadan
MSN:
60 02
YOM:
1949
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
10291
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a positioning flight from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur to Magadan with an intermediate stop at Okhotsk. En route, pilots encountered poor weather conditions with turbulences and heavy icing conditions. The airplane lost altitude and eventually dove into the ground before crashing in flames at an altitude of 900 meters on the slope of Mt Dzhugdzhur (1,207 meters high) located in the region of Enken. The burned wreckage was found five days later and all five crew members were killed. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were bad with low visibility, snow falls, severe icing conditions, turbulences, wind from 140° at 100 km/h and an OAT of -18°.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the loss of control was caused by an excessive accumulation of ice on wings, stabs and tail combined to the extreme poor weather conditions. It was considered that the informations transmitted to the crew related to weather were incomplete and did not reflect the truth. Also, ATC assistance was considered as inefficient.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18A in Sverdlovsk: 1 killed

Date & Time: Apr 27, 1960 at 2139 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-75648
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Sverdlovsk - Sverdlovsk
MSN:
188 0004 02
YOM:
2
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
390
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a local training flight at Sverdlovsk-Koltsovo Airport. Following two landings and two approches, the crew started a new approach by night. During the last segment, at a speed of 260 km/h, the aircraft adopted a nose down attitude and struck the runway with its nose gear first that was sheared off upon impact. The airplane bounced and climbed to a height of about 10 meters before hitting the runway again in a nose down attitude. Upon impact, the airplane went out of control and veered off runway to the right before coming to rest in flames. The flight mechanic was killed while all four other occupants were injured. The aircraft was partially destroyed by fire.
Probable cause:
Wrong approach configuration on part of the instructor who adopted a too high speed on final (260 km/h) and failed to adopt a correct flare configuration, causing the airplane to adopt a nose down attitude and to struck the runway surface nose first, causing the nose gear to fail. It was determined that the rear trunk was loaded with a ballast weighing 600 kg instead of 1,000 kg which contributed to shift the center of gravity forward, causing the airplane to nose down. Analysis were not able to confirm if icing conditions may contribute to the accident or not.