Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines

Survivors:

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Schedule:

Odessa – Toula – Moscow

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On landing at Tula Airport, the Aeroflot's airplane went out of control, veered off runway and collided with a Soviet Air Force aircraft that was holding for takeoff to Berlin. Both aircraft exploded and all 70 occupants on both aircraft were killed, 36 on board Aeroflot and 34 on board the Soviet Air Force airplane, among them 30 Army cadets. The exact circumstances of this ground collision remains unclear.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Stalingrad: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 9, 1952 at 0222 LT

Type of aircraft:

Landing (descent or approach)

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4315

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Moscow – Voronezh – Stalingrad – Baku

MSN:

184 274 10

YOM:

Flight number:

SU203

Location:

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Aircraft flight hours:

4736

Circumstances:

The crew was performing a cargo flight from Moscow to Baku with intermediate stops in Voronezh and Stalingrad, carrying a load of 1,793 kilos of various goods consisting of 517 kilos of brass sheets and mail. The approach to Stalingrad Airport was completed by night and marginal weather conditions. On final, while at a height of about 250 meters some 2,300 meters short of runway, the aircraft lost altitude and then stalled and crashed in a snow covered field, about 60 meters to the right of the center line. The aircraft broke in two and the radio operator was seriously injured while three other occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the young copilot was seated on the left seat while the captain was seated on the right seat at the time of the accident, which was against all regulations and company procedures as the captain did not have sufficient experience to complete a night approach in such configuration. Investigations revealed that the stall was caused by an insufficient approach speed due to an inadequate approach configuration on part of the crew who failed to monitor their instruments properly, especially the speed indicator. The following factors were considered as contributory:
- Lack of coordination during final approach,
- Negligence,
- Lack of discipline,
- Wrong approach configuration,
- Poor flight preparation.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Namtsev: 20 killed

Date & Time: Dec 27, 1951 at 0426 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4228

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Republic of Yakutia (Sakha)

Schedule:

Yakutsk – Vilyuisk

MSN:

18421601

YOM:

1945

Location:

Namtsev

Country:

Russia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

4429

Circumstances:

On a flight from Yakutsk to Vilyuisk when the crew selected fuel supply from the left rear tank but forgot to switch to another tank when the left rear tank ran empty. Both engines stopped 31 minutes into the flight so the crew tried to make an emergency landing in the valley of the river Taras located near Namtsev, about 90 km north of Yakutsk. Unfortunately, the crew set the propellers on high pitch and lowered the landing gear too early so the aircraft did not make it to the valley, stalled and crashed into a wooded area some 200 meters from an open area. All 20 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

Engine failure caused by a fuel exhaustion due to poor management of the fuel supply system on part of the crew. The following factors were considered as contributory:
- Poor flight organization,
- Poor crew coordination,
- Several wrong decisions were taken by the flying crew during flight.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-12 in Novosibirsk: 23 killed

Date & Time: Nov 17, 1951 at 1623 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-12

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1775

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Novosibirsk – Moscow

MSN:

9 301 31 12

YOM:

Location:

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Aircraft flight hours:

2007

Circumstances:

Due to the arrival of additional passengers coming from Yakutsk, a second flight was organized from Novosibirsk to Moscow. Snow falls all day and about 15 mm of ice accumulated on all aircraft. During taxiing, an additional layer of 8 to 10 mm of snow accumulated on the airplane. The takeoff run was considered as normal and after rotation, the airplane climbed to a height of about 100 meters and then stalled and crashed in a huge explosion about 900 meters past the runway end. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 23 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the aircraft was covered by ice and snow and that the following areas were polluted and contaminated by ice and snow: leading edges, trailing edges, ailerons, wings, fuselage, tail and stabs. In such conditions, the aircraft was unable to climb in a safely manner. The following findings were pointed out:
- The crew neglected some procedures referring to the flight preparation,
- The crew failed to check the aircraft prior to departure and failed to provide an appropriate deicing procedure,
- Poor flight preparation and organisation,
- Poor weather conditions,
- Lack of appropriate measures taken to clean the aircraft before takeoff.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Sverdlovsk: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 11, 1951 at 0340 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4416

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Sochi – Krasnodar – Rostov-on-Don – Voronezh – Penza – Kazan – Sverdlovsk

MSN:

184 285 02

YOM:

Flight number:

SU521

Location:

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Region:

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Aircraft flight hours:

4169

Circumstances:

The aircraft departed Kazan Airport at 2250LT in good weather conditions bound for Sverdlovsk-Koltsovo Airport. The crew was cleared to climb to 3,000 meters and later, encountered marginal weather conditions with clouds, icing conditions and light snow. In such conditions, the crew requested permission to reduce his altitude and descended to 1,800 meters in icing conditions. The radio operator tried several times to contact ATC in Koltsovo without success. Unable to locate his position due to low visibility and the failure of the radiocompas, the crew lost his orientation and due to a imminent fuel exhaustion, the captain decided to attempt an emergency belly landing. The airplane hit trees and crashed in a prairie located about 70 km west of Sverdlovsk and was damaged beyond repair. All 10 occupants were wounded and the copilot died from his injuries a day later.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the accident resulted from a loss of orientation on part of the crew leading to an emergency landing attempt due to exhausted fuel reserves. The following factors were considered as contributory:
- weather conditions deteriorated en route with icing conditions that were not reported in the weather forecast bulletin transmitted to the crew prior to departure,
- malfunction or failure of the radiocompas and a communication antenna, probably due to icing conditions,
- negligence on part of the crew who failed to follow the procedures for a radiocompas navigation, failed to perform the appropriate heading and tracking calculations and failed to refer to the direction-finding (ADF) values,
- failure of the air traffic controller who authorized the crew to climb to the altitude of 3,000 meters with the presence of severe icing conditions,
- crew fatigue due to a near 14 consecutive hours duty time,
- a copilot was refused on board before departure due to intoxication and the captain decided to do the flight without him. As a result, the flight was started with a limited crew which was also considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Serkovo: 6 killed

Date & Time: Oct 1, 1951 at 0931 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4775

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Turukhansk – Igarka

MSN:

184 340 04

YOM:

Flight number:

SU033

Location:

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Region:

Crew on board:

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Pax on board:

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Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

1470

Circumstances:

The crew left Turukhansk Airport in the morning in marginal weather conditions consisting of rain falls and a visibility estimated between 4 and 10 km. About 115 km north of Turukhansk, the visibility dropped to one km and the pilot-in-command modified his route and decided to reduce his altitude to maintain a visual contact with the ground when the aircraft hit tree tops with its left wing. It continued for one km then banked left and crashed in a dense wooded area located about 25 km north of the village of Serkovo. All four crew members and two passengers were killed while 9 other passengers were injured, three seriously.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the crew decided to fly under visual flight rules in IFR conditions and below minima. Also, the pilot-in-command modified his route without prior permission, which was considered as a contributory factor.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 in Gorbovichi: 5 killed

Date & Time: Sep 7, 1951 at 1121 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-A2583

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Kiev – Byshev – Borodyanka – Kiev

MSN:

1 00 473 02

YOM:

Location:

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Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

972

Circumstances:

The crew consisting of two pilots and three instructors left Kiev-Zhuliany Airport at 0936LT on a training mission to Byshev, Borodyanka and back to Zhuliany. While cruising west of Kiev at an altitude of 1,000 meters in good weather conditions, the aircraft went out of control, lost several pieces and went into a dive. At a height of 50 meters, three crew members bailed out and the aircraft crashed at an angle of descent of 35 to 40° in a field located in Gorbovichi, about 24 km west of Kiev. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact, several debris were scattered on a large area and all five crew members were killed. Unfortunately, the three crew members who bailed out were also killed as the distance with the ground was insufficient.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the loss of control was due to the failure of the wings' structure and several other parts of the fuselage due to a faulty design of the aircraft and unacceptable manufacturing defaults.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Vilyuisk: 2 killed

Date & Time: Aug 12, 1951 at 0702 LT

Type of aircraft:

Landing (descent or approach)

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4314

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Republic of Yakutia (Sakha)

Schedule:

Vilyuisk - Yakutsk

MSN:

18427409

Location:

Vilyuisk

Country:

Russia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

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Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Vilyuisk Airport, while climbing, the left engine failed. The crew was able to shut down the engine and to feather the propeller and decided to return to the airport for a safe landing. After completing a circuit, the airplane was approaching the airfield when it stalled and crashed in a field. Two passengers were killed while 14 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Probable cause:

Failure of the left engine after liftoff due to a technical problem on the regulator. However, it was determined that the crew failed to take the appropriate actions and due to a lack of coordination, completed the approach in a wrong configuration with a too low speed, causing the aircraft to stall. A recovery was impossible due to an insufficient distance between the airplane and the ground. It appears that the captain and the second pilot who was acting as an instructor on this flight and was seating in the right seat did not have sufficient skills to operate in such situation with one engine inoperative.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 in Russia: 4 killed

Date & Time: Apr 21, 1951

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-A2597

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site: