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Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R near Abakan: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jun 21, 1973 at 1900 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-09228
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
1G22-06
YOM:
1962
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Aircraft flight hours:
8770
Aircraft flight cycles:
14599
Circumstances:
While on a crop-spraying flight for the sovkhoz (state farm) 'Rossiya' located in the Altai district of Khakassia, the crew got distracted from piloting for unknown reason. While flying a turn at a height of some 15-20 metres, the aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a field located about 45 km south of Abakan. A pilot and the passenger, a local guide, were killed, while the second pilot was seriously injured.
Probable cause:
Crew distraction.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R near Hirnyk: 1 killed

Date & Time: May 20, 1973 at 1530 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-55798
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Hirnyk - Hirnyk
MSN:
1G51-11
YOM:
1964
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
6947
Aircraft flight cycles:
20001
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a crop spraying flight (herbicides on corn field) for the sovkhoz (state farm) 'Gornyak' located in the Starobeshevo district of the Donetsk region. While flying at a height of about 50 meters, the captain made a sharp turn to the right when the airplane lost height and crashed 3,5 km west of Hirnyk. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire, a pilot was killed as the second occupant was seriously injured.
Probable cause:
Error of judgment on part of the pilot-in-command who completed a sharp turn to the right while the aircraft's speed was too low, causing the airplane to stall and to crash.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-104B near Chita: 81 killed

Date & Time: May 18, 1973 at 0938 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-42411
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Moscow – Chelyabinsk – Novosibirsk – Irkutsk – Chita
MSN:
8 2 03 03
YOM:
1958
Flight number:
SU109
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
72
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
81
Aircraft flight hours:
19329
Aircraft flight cycles:
8841
Circumstances:
While in cruising altitude on the leg from Irkutsk to Chita, a hijacker went into the cockpit and ordered the crew to fly to China. Negotiations between the crew and the hijacker were unfruitful and after few minutes, a member of the militia shot the hijacker. Before dying, the hijacker was able to fire a system connected to several grenades attached to his belt. A huge detonation occurred in the cabin, causing the aircraft to disintegrate in the air. From an altitude of 6,500 meters, the airplane entered a dive and crashed in the taiga about 97 km west of Chita. Debris were found on a wide area and none of the 81 occupants survived the crash. Soviet Authorities later reported that the hijacker was a mental imbalance and explained his gesture by their recent refusal to grant him a job position within the diplomatic corps.
Probable cause:
Explosion of a 'bomb' after being hijacked.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R near Vologda

Date & Time: May 14, 1973
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-70569
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
1G127-37
YOM:
1971
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances near Vologda. There were no casualties. It is reported that the total weight of the aircraft was above the MTOW at the time of the accident.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18B near Semipalatinsk: 63 killed

Date & Time: May 11, 1973 at 0437 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-75687
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Baku - Tashkent - Novosibirsk
MSN:
189 0012 02
YOM:
1959
Flight number:
SU6551
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
55
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
63
Aircraft flight hours:
21663
Aircraft flight cycles:
11787
Circumstances:
While cruising by night at an altitude of 7,800 meters in good weather conditions, the pilot-in-command initiated a turn to the left when control was lost. The airplane entered a dive and spiraled to the ground. At an altitude of 5,000 meters, some elements of the upper wing surface and the stabilisers detached and the airplane disintegrated in the air before crashing in a steppe located about 84 km south of Semipalatinsk. Wings and stabilisers parts were found at a distance of some 3.5 km from the crash site. All 63 occupants have been killed.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined. The assumption that the aircraft collided with an object was not ruled out. It is believed the crew may have start an emergency descent but the reason of this manoeuvre could not be established. FDR could not be read properly as it was seriously damaged in the crash.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 in Kursk

Date & Time: May 11, 1973
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-05915
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
6 004 09
YOM:
1966
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The engine failed in flight, forcing the crew to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft crash landed and was damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties.
Probable cause:
Engine failure.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-154 in Moscow

Date & Time: May 7, 1973
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-85030
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow - Moscow
MSN:
72A030
YOM:
1972
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a local training mission at Vnukovo Airport. Following four successful touch-and-go manoeuvres, the crew took off again. Just after liftoff, while at a height of 20 meters, the aircraft suffered severe vibrations and went unstable. Shortly later, while climbing to a height of 70 meters, both engines n°1 & 3 lost power simultaneously. The captain decided to make an emergency landing when the aircraft struck tree tops and crashed in flames in a wooded area. All four occupants were slightly injured while the aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
It appears that a technical problem occurred with the slats which deployed in an inappropriate angle after rotation. Nevertheless, the cause of the power loss on two engine remains unknown.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in the Northwest Territories

Date & Time: May 3, 1973 at 0740 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-04244
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
3 34 447 01
YOM:
1953
Country:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed the Polar Station SP-21 in the early morning on a flight to the North Pole (Arctic region) with six crew members and three scientists (hydrologists) on board, and was used for communications with Soviet submarines cruising in the Arctic zone. The crew found a suitable area to land located about 500 km north of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, NWT. After landing, the scientists proceeded to ice inspection and it was reported that the ice thickness was 47 cm, which was considered as insufficient to leave the aircraft parked for a long period. The decision was taken to leave the area to find another one when the left ski went through the ice, followed shortly later by the right ski. The aircraft was blocked into the ice and impossible to move. Due to the presence of sensible equipments on board, it was decided to destroy the airplane that partially sank. All nine occupants were evacuated two days later by the crew of an Antonov AN-2.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-104B in Leningrad: 2 killed

Date & Time: Apr 23, 1973 at 1506 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-42505
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Leningrad – Moscow
MSN:
0 2 19 03
YOM:
1960
Flight number:
SU2420
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
51
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Aircraft flight hours:
17095
Aircraft flight cycles:
10698
Circumstances:
After takeoff from Leningrad-Shosseinaya Airport, while cruising at an altitude of 7,800 meters, a stewardess informed the cockpit crew about a passenger who wanted to fly to Stockholm and was carrying a pistol and a hand grenade. After entering the cockpit, the hijacker stand by the flight engineer. The crew returned to Leningrad-Shosseinaya and on final approach, while at a height of 120-140 meters, the captain asked the copilot to lower the gear. When the hijacker realized they were flying back to Leningrad, he unpin the grenade that exploded in the cockpit, causing a huge hole in the fuselage. The hijacker and the flight engineer were killed while both pilots were slightly injured. 30 seconds later, the pilots were able to land the airplane at a speed of 310 km/h. After touchdown, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane slid for several dozen meters before coming to a halt. All 55 other occupants were uninjured while the aircraft was not repaired.
Probable cause:
Hijacked after takeoff and severely damaged by the explosion of a grenade and the failure of the nose gear after landing.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R near Osinovka: 1 killed

Date & Time: Apr 14, 1973 at 0815 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-35577
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Osinovka – Almaty
MSN:
1G115-28
YOM:
1970
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
1870
Circumstances:
While on a positioning flight from Osinovka-Andreyevka to Almaty for crop-spraying operations for the sovkhoz (state farm) 'Andreyevski' with 2 mechanics and 2 local guides on board, the captain decided not to circumvent the Chubundy (Shybyndy) mountain ridge but to make a straight-in flight. Few minutes later, he encountered below-minima weather conditions and decided to return to Andreyevka but this was too late. Shortly later, while completing a turn in clouds at an altitude of 1,200 meters, the single engine airplane collided with the summit of a ridge located about 15 km northeast of Andreyevka Airport and crashed. Injured, the copilot walked down the mountain to find help. The captain was killed while all five other occupants were injured.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain caused by wrong in-flight decisions on part of the captain.