Aeroflot Flight 245

Aviation accident

Aeroflot Flight 245
Accident
An Ilyushin Il-18 similar to the accident aircraft
Date	17 December 1961 (1961-12-17)
Summary	Pilot error due to accidental in-flight deployment of flaps; loss of control
Site	10 km east of Chebotovka, Rostov Oblast
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Ilyushin Il-18
Operator	Aeroflot
Registration	CCCP-75654
Flight origin	Vnukovo International Airport
Destination	Sochi International Airport
Occupants	59
Passengers	50
Crew	9
Fatalities	59
Survivors	0

Aeroflot Flight 245 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by an Ilyushin Il-18B that crashed during the cruise phase of the flight en route to Sochi on Sunday 17 December 1961, resulting in the death of all 59 people on board. An investigation revealed the aircraft entered a steep dive after the flaps were accidentally extended.

Accident

Flight 245 was a scheduled passenger flight from Vnukovo to Sochi. At 14:34 Moscow time the Ilyushin departed Vnukovo International Airport and climbed to its cruising altitude of 8,000 meters. At 15:47 the crew contacted ATC and gave a position report, then the flight again communicated with ATC at 15:52. At 15:59 the controller was unable to raise flight 245 and it disappeared from radar. While in level flight cruising at 630 km/h the flight engineer inadvertently moved the flaps selector to full extension of 40 degrees and due to the large amount of drag and the Ilyushin Il-18's peculiar aerodynamic design the aircraft pitched over and entered a steep descent. Without retracting the flaps it would be almost impossible to regain control of the aircraft and due to the high negative g-force the crew were experiencing they could not reach the flap selector. As the airliner gained speed in its dive the port and starboard flap assemblies were ripped from the wing by high aerodynamic forces. At 16:00 the aircraft impacted the ground at very high speed with the landing gear retracted and at a pitch angle of 107 degrees. The impact crater measured from 3.5 to 5 meters deep and the debris field was 300 to 350 meters in width.^[1]^[2]

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an Ilyushin Il-18B, serial number 188000503 and registered as CCCP-75654 to Aeroflot. The construction of the airliner was completed on 30 October 1958 and it had sustained a total of 2,722 flight hours before the crash.^[1]^[2]

Investigation

Investigators determined that the cause of the accident was the deployment of full flaps at cruising speed. Unlike the Ilyushin Il-14 aircraft, the IL-18 did not have a mechanism to prevent accidental flap selector movement and this was found to be a contributing factor in the accident sequence.^[1]^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Disaster Il-18B MUTA GVF in the Tarasovsky district of the Rostov region". airdisaster.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-06-07.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Accident description 17 December 1961". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2018-06-07.

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 1961 (1961)
Jan 3 Aero Flight 311 Jan 16 1961 RAF Lakenheath Super Sabre fire Jan 24 Goldsboro B-52 crash Jan 28 American Airlines Flight 1502 Feb 3 Garuda Indonesia Flight 542 Feb 15 Sabena Flight 548 Mar 14 Yuba City B-52 crash Mar 16 Aeroflot Flight 68 Mar 28 ČSA Flight 511 Apr 3 LAN-Chile Flight 621 May 10 Air France Flight 406 May 30 Viasa Flight 897 Jun 12 KLM Flight 823 Jul 11 United Air Lines Flight 859 Jul 12 ČSA Flight 511 Jul 19 Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 644 Jul 21 Alaska Airlines Flight 779 Jul 30 Avion Pirata Aug 6 Malév C-47 crash Aug 9 Holtaheia Vickers Viking crash Sep 1 TWA Flight 529 Sep 10 President Airlines DC-6 crash Sep 12 Air France Flight 2005 Sep 14 F-84 Thunderstreak incident Sep 17 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 Sep 18 Transair Sweden DC-6 crash Sep 23 Turkish Airlines Flight 835 Oct 7 Derby Aviation crash Nov 8 Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 Nov 14 Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crash Nov 23 Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 322 Nov 30 Ansett-ANA Flight 325 Dec 17 Aeroflot Flight 245
1960 ◄ ► 1962

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1961 (1961)

Jan 3

Aero Flight 311

Jan 16

1961 RAF Lakenheath Super Sabre fire

Jan 24

Goldsboro B-52 crash

Jan 28

American Airlines Flight 1502

Feb 3

Garuda Indonesia Flight 542

Feb 15

Sabena Flight 548

Mar 14

Yuba City B-52 crash

Mar 16

Aeroflot Flight 68

Mar 28

ČSA Flight 511

Apr 3

LAN-Chile Flight 621

May 10

Air France Flight 406

May 30

Viasa Flight 897

Jun 12

KLM Flight 823

Jul 11

United Air Lines Flight 859

Jul 12

ČSA Flight 511

Jul 19

Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 644

Jul 21

Alaska Airlines Flight 779

Jul 30

Avion Pirata

Aug 6

Malév C-47 crash

Aug 9

Holtaheia Vickers Viking crash

Sep 1

TWA Flight 529

Sep 10

President Airlines DC-6 crash

Sep 12

Air France Flight 2005

Sep 14

F-84 Thunderstreak incident

Sep 17

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706

Sep 18

Transair Sweden DC-6 crash

Sep 23

Turkish Airlines Flight 835

Oct 7

Derby Aviation crash

Nov 8

Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8

Nov 14

Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crash

Nov 23

Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 322

Nov 30

Ansett-ANA Flight 325

Dec 17

Aeroflot Flight 245

1960 ◄ ► 1962

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