Aeroflot Flight 012

1963 aviation accident

52°15′12″N 104°26′14″E / 52.2533°N 104.4372°E / 52.2533; 104.4372AircraftAircraft typeTupolev Tu-104BOperatorAeroflotRegistrationСССР-42492Flight originBeijing Capital International Airport, ChinaStopoverIrkutsk, USSRDestinationSheremetyevo Airport, Moscow USSRPassengers27Crew8Fatalities33Survivors2

Aeroflot Flight 012 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Beijing, China to Moscow, Soviet Union on Saturday, July 13, 1963, which crashed on landing at a scheduled stopover in Irkutsk. 33 of the 35 people on board died in the crash.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Tupolev Tu-104B, registration СССР-42492.^[1]^[2]

Synopsis

The plane took off from Beijing around 2:49am Moscow time en route to Irkutsk at 9,000 meters. With low cloud cover over the Irkutsk airport, the crew received contradictory weather data about the low height of the cloud tops. The plane ended up descending too early. Upon exiting the cloud cover less than 60 meters from the ground, the pilots attempted to take evasive action but could not and the plane impacted terrain two miles short of the runway around 10am local time.^[3]^[2]

Casualties

33 of the 35 people on board died in the crash, including all eight crew members and 25 passengers. Two passengers survived.^[2] Among the dead were seven Albanians including the Albanian ambassador to China and poet Drago Siliqi, as well as three Chinese.^[4] The remains of the Albanian and Chinese victims were taken to Beijing for a major public burial attended by Premier Zhou Enlai. In contrast, a United States aviation periodical noted the Soviet press "virtually ignored" the crash.^[4]

References

^ "Туполев Ту-104Б Бортовой №: СССР-42492". russianplanes.net. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev Tu-104B СССР-42492 Irkutsk Airport (IKT)". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
^ "Катастрофа Ту-104Б Восточно-Сибирского управления ГВФ в районе Иркутска (Katastrofa Tu-104B Vostočno-Sibirskogo upravlenija GVF v rajone Irkutska)". airdisaster.ru. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
^ ^a ^b Aviation Week & Space Technology, Volume 79. McGraw-Hill. 1963. p. 50.

Aeroflot

Part of the SkyTeam alliance

Subsidiaries

Active	Pobeda Rossiya
Inactive	Dobrolet Donavia Orenair SAT Airlines Vladivostok Air
Exited	Aurora Nordavia (now Smartavia)

Fleet

Accidents and
incidents

1950s	Flight 31 Kiev mid-air collision Flight 04 Тu-104 Kanash crash Flight 120 Flight 200 Flight 315
1960s	Flight 315 Flight 207 Flight 036 Flight 068 Flight 245 Flight 902 Flight 415 Flight 03 Flight 213 Flight 191 Flight 25 Flight 012 Flight 366 Flight 663 Flight 721 Flight 101/X-20 Flight 542 Flight 513 Flight 99 Flight 065 Flight 2723 Flight 5003 Flight 2230 Flight L-51 Flight 1668 Flight 15 Flight 831 Flight N-826
1970s	Flight U-45 Flight 1661 Flight 3630 CCCP-11000 crash CCCP-12996 crash Flight 1969 Flight 1912 Flight 773 Flight 2174 Flight 1491 Flight 558 Flight 1036 Flight 217 Flight 6263 Flight 141 Flight 630 Flight 6551 Flight 109 Flight A-13 Flight 3932 Flight 964 Flight 19 Flight 2022 CCCP-75559 crash Flight 662 Flight 2003 Flight 3739 Flight 909 Flight 1802 Flight 418 Flights 7957 and 31 Flight 2415 Flight N-36 Flight 3843 Flight 5003 Flight 331 Flight B-2 Flight 6709 Flight 1080 Flight 1691 Flights 7628 and 7880 Flight 5484
1980s	Flight 4225 Flight 498 Flight 811 Flight 3603 Flight 8641 Flight 411 Flight 343 Flight 5463 Flight 601 Flight 3352 Flight 3519 Flight 7841 Zolochiv mid-air collision Flight 5143 Flight 101/435 Flight 2306 Flight 6502 Flight 892 Flight U-505 Flight N-528 Flight 699 Flight 3739
since 1990s	CCCP-46472 crash Flight 2808 Flight 593 Flight 521 Flight 821 Flight 1492

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1963 (1963)
Jan 13 Elephant Mountain B-52 crash Feb 1 1963 Ankara mid-air collision Feb 12 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 Mar 2 Philippine Air Lines Flight 984 Mar 5 Aeroflot Flight 191 Mar 5 Camden PA-24 crash Apr 4 Aeroflot Flight 25 Jun 3 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293 Jul 2 Mohawk Airlines Flight 112 Jul 3 NZ National Airways Flight 441 Jul 13 Aeroflot Flight 012 Jul 27 United Arab Airlines Flight 869 Aug 21 Aeroflot Flight 366 Aug 24 Aeroflot Flight 663 Sep 4 Swissair Flight 306 Oct 22 BAC One-Eleven test crash Nov 8 Aero Flight 217 Nov 22 Poonch IAF helicopter crash Nov 29 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831 Dec 8 Pan Am Flight 214
1962 ◄ ► 1964

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1963 (1963)

Jan 13

Elephant Mountain B-52 crash

Feb 1

1963 Ankara mid-air collision

Feb 12

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705

Mar 2

Philippine Air Lines Flight 984

Mar 5

Aeroflot Flight 191

Mar 5

Camden PA-24 crash

Apr 4

Aeroflot Flight 25

Jun 3

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293

Jul 2

Mohawk Airlines Flight 112

Jul 3

NZ National Airways Flight 441

Jul 13

Aeroflot Flight 012

Jul 27

United Arab Airlines Flight 869

Aug 21

Aeroflot Flight 366

Aug 24

Aeroflot Flight 663

Sep 4

Swissair Flight 306

Oct 22

BAC One-Eleven test crash

Nov 8

Aero Flight 217

Nov 22

Poonch IAF helicopter crash

Nov 29

Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831

Dec 8

Pan Am Flight 214

1962 ◄ ► 1964

Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union

1930s	Osoaviakhim-1 SSSR-V6 Osoaviakhim
1940s	1948 Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-12 crash
1950s	1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash LOT Polish Airlines Flight 232 1957 Kiev mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 04 1958 Aeroflot Tu-104 Kanash crash Aeroflot Flight 315 (1959) Aeroflot Flight 120 Aeroflot Flight 200
1960s	Aeroflot Flight 315 (1960) U-2 incident Aeroflot Flight 207 RB-47 shootdown incident Aeroflot Flight 036 Austrian Airlines Flight 901 Aeroflot Flight 068 Aeroflot Flight 245 Aeroflot Flight 902 Aeroflot Flight 415 Aeroflot Flight 213 (1962) Aeroflot Flight 191 Aeroflot Flight 03 Aeroflot Flight 25 Aeroflot Flight 012 Aeroflot Flight 366 Aeroflot Flight 663 Aeroflot Flight 721 Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20 Aeroflot Flight 542 Aeroflot Flight 513 Aeroflot Flight 99 Aeroflot Flight 065 Aeroflot Flight 2723 Aeroflot Flight 5003 (1967) Aeroflot Flight 2230 Aeroflot Flight L-51 Aeroflot Flight 15 Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253A 1969 Yukhnov mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight N-826
1970s	Aeroflot Flight U-45 Aeroflot Flight 1661 Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affair Aeroflot Flight 3630 Aeroflot Flight 244 22 January 1971 Surgut Aeroflot Antonov An-12 crash 31 January 1971 Surgut Aeroflot Antonov An-12 crash Aeroflot Flight 1969 Aeroflot Flight 1912 Malév Flight 110 Aeroflot Flight 773 Aeroflot Flight N-63 Aeroflot Flight 2174 Aeroflot Flight 1491 Aeroflot Flight 558 Aeroflot Flight 1036 Aeroflot Flight 217 Japan Air Lines Flight 446 Aeroflot Flight 6263 Aeroflot Flight 141 Aeroflot Flight 630 Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 307 Aeroflot Flight 6551 Aeroflot Flight 109 Aeroflot Flight A-13 Aeroflot Flight 3932 Aeroflot Flight 964 Aeroflot Flight 19 Aeroflot Flight 2022 1974 Leningrad Aeroflot Il-18 crash 1974 Surgut mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 2003 Aeroflot Flight 3739 (1976) Aeroflot Flight 909 Aeroflot Flight 1802 Aeroflot Flight A-53 Aeroflot Flight 418 1976 Anapa mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 2415 Aeroflot Flight N-36 Aeroflot Flight 3843 Aeroflot Flight 5003 (1977) 1977 Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134 hijacking Aeroflot Flight B-2 Aeroflot Flight 6709 Korean Air Lines Flight 902 1978 Yegoryevsk Tu-144 crash Iranian Chinook shootdown Aeroflot Flight 1080 Aeroflot Flight 1691 1979 Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 5484
1980s– Dec. 1991	Aeroflot Flight 4225 1981 Pushkin Tu-104 crash Aeroflot Flight 498 1981 Armenia mid-air collision 1981 Zheleznogorsk mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 811 Aeroflot Flight 3603 Aeroflot Flight 8641 Aeroflot Flight 411 Aeroflot Flight 5463 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Aeroflot Flight 601 Aeroflot Flight 3352 Aeroflot Flight 3519 Aeroflot Flight 7841 1985 Zolochiv mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 5143 Aeroflot Flight 101/435 Aeroflot Flight 2306 Aeroflot Flight 6502 Aeroflot Flight U-505 Aeroflot Flight N-528 Aeroflot Flight 699 Aeroflot Flight 3739 (1988) 1988 Soviet Air Force Il-76 crash An-24 crash in Navoiy Aeroflot Flight 8556