Aeroflot Flight 3932

1973 plane crash in the Soviet Union
Aeroflot Flight 3932
An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104B similar to the aircraft involved
Accident
Date30 September 1973
SummarySpatial disorientation after electrical failure
Site10 km southwest of Koltsovo Airport
Aircraft
Aircraft typeTupolev Tu-104
OperatorAeroflot
RegistrationСССР-42506
Flight originKoltsovo Airport, Sverdlovsk, Russian SFSR
1st stopoverOmsk Tsentralny Airport, Russian SFSR
2nd stopoverTolmachevo Airport, Novosibirsk, Russian SFSR
3rd stopoverKadala Airport, Chita, Russian SFSR
Last stopoverKhabarovsk Novy Airport, Russian SFSR
DestinationKnevichi Airport, Vladivostok, Russian SFSR
Occupants108
Passengers100
Crew8
Fatalities108
Survivors0

Aeroflot Flight 3932 was a flight operated by Aeroflot from Koltsovo Airport to Omsk Tsentralny Airport. On 30 September 1973, the Tupolev Tu-104 operating the route crashed shortly after takeoff from Sverdlovsk, killing all 108 passengers and crew on board.[1][2]

Aircraft

The aircraft involved in the accident was a Tupolev Tu-104B with two Mikulin AM-3M-500 engines, registered СССР-42506, originally to the Uzbekistan division of the state airline, Aeroflot. At the time of the accident, the aircraft sustained had 20,582 flight hours and 9412 pressurization cycles. The aircraft had 100 passenger seats, hence it was at full capacity when it crashed.[1][3]

Crew

Eight crew members were aboard Flight 3932. The cockpit crew consisted of:[3]

Synopsis

Weather conditions at Sverdlovsk were reported to be mild; visibility was over 6 kilometers, and light northwest winds.[1]

Flight 3932 was on the Sverdlovsk-Knevichi route with stopovers at Omsk, Tolmachevo, Kadala, and Khabarovsk airports. The flight crashed shortly after takeoff on the Koltsovo-Omsk part of the route.[1][2]

The flight took off from Koltsovo Airport at 18:33 Moscow time and at 18:34:21 headed on a bearing of 256° for the route to Omsk. As a routine procedure, air traffic control instructed the crew to make a left turn and climb to an altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) after takeoff; the crew responded that they would report when they reached the altitude.[2]

At 18:35:25 Moscow time, 5–6 seconds after setting the engines to standard power, with an altitude of 350–400 metres (1,150–1,310 ft) and a speed of 480 km/h (260 kn; 300 mph) the crew began the left turn while in the clouds, with a bank angle between 35-40°. At 20:37 local time (18:37 Moscow time), when the flight was at an altitude of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft), the bank angle reached 75-80°, after which the crew completely lost control of the aircraft. The plane crashed into a nearby forest at a speed of 270 km/h (150 kn; 170 mph).[1][2]

Cause

The aircraft crashed due to incorrect indications by the main artificial horizon and the compass system, caused by a failure of the electrical supply, resulting in spatial disorientation of the pilots. The aircraft crashed approximately five miles from Koltsovo Airport.[1][4]

See also

Portals:
  •  Aviation
  • flag Soviet Union
  • flag Russia
  • icon 1970s
  • Aeroflot Flight 964, also a Tupolev Tu-104, which crashed just two weeks after Flight 3932 experiencing similar electrical failures.
  • Aeroflot Flight 1912, another Tupolev Tu-104, crashed after a hard landing caused by similar mechanical failures.
  • Aeroflot Flight 2415, another Tupolev Tu-104, crashed after takeoff experiencing similar equipment failure.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Катастрофа Ту-104Б Хабаровского ОАО близ а/п Свердловск-Кольцово (борт СССР-42506), 30 сентября 1973 года. // AirDisaster.ru - авиационные происшествия, инциденты и авиакатастрофы в СССР и России - факты, история, статистика". www.airdisaster.ru. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev 104B СССР-42506 Sverdlovsk-Koltsovo Airport (SVX)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b "✈ russianplanes.net ✈ наша авиация". russianplanes.net. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  4. ^ Gero, David (1996). Aviation Disasters Second Edition. Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 121.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Subsidiaries
Active
Inactive
Exited
FleetAccidents and
incidents
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
since 1990s
  • v
  • t
  • e
Sep 30
Aeroflot Flight 3932
Nov 23
Italian Air Force C-47 Argo 16 crash
1972   ◄    ►   1974
  • v
  • t
  • e
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s–
Dec. 1991

56°42′41″N 60°38′41″E / 56.71139°N 60.64472°E / 56.71139; 60.64472