1933 Tupolev ANT-7 Podolsk crash

1933 Tupolev ANT-7 Podolsk crash
	A Tupolev ANT-7
Accident
Date	5 September 1933
Summary	Wing failure, loss of control
Site	near Podolsk, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR, USSR
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Tupolev R-6L (converted from R-6)
Operator	Moscow Aviation Plant No. 22
Registration	USSR-S
Flight origin	Moscow
Destination	Crimea
Passengers	6
Crew	2
Fatalities	8
Survivors	0

Last updated October 22, 2024

The 1933 Tupolev ANT-7 Podolsk crash was an aviation accident that occurred south of Podolsk, Moscow Oblast, on Tuesday, 5 September 1933. The crash involved a converted Tupolev ANT-7 aircraft and resulted in the deaths of all eight people on board, including prominent figures in the Soviet aviation industry and civil aviation. The incident gained widespread attention and ultimately led to a comprehensive reorganization of air transport in the Soviet Union.

Aircraft

The ANT-7 involved in the incident was created in July 1933 at the Moscow Aviation Plant No. 22 by converting a reconnaissance aircraft, the R-6. These aircraft were considered outdated at the time and were gradually being decommissioned. Therefore, they were converted into more comfortable passenger ANT-7 aircraft, which is why the converted aircraft is sometimes referred to as the R-6L ("limousine") in some references. These modifications were supported by the head of the Main Directorate of Aviation Industry, Pyotr Ionovich Baranov.^{[ citation needed ]}

Only one copy was created, with all armament removed. The fuselage was modified to accommodate 8 passenger seats (according to other sources, the aircraft's seating capacity was 7), and the cockpit was glazed. Equipment for blind flight in night and poor weather conditions was not installed. The test flight of the airliner took place near the plant's airfield and showed good results.^[1]

Crash

In early September, an unexpected order arrived at the plant, requiring fuel tanks to be installed on the aircraft. The ANT-7 was to perform a long flight to Crimea and deliver a group of representatives from the aviation industry and civil aviation there, as a new aviation plant was being opened in Sevastopol.^{[ citation needed ]}

It is known (from the daughter of A. Z. Goltsman) that the order to fly to Crimea, delivered by a military courier, was personally received from Stalin. Whether the crash was orchestrated or not is unknown.

There were a total of 2 crew members and 6 passengers on board:^[1]

Crew

Dorfman I. M. — Chief Pilot of Glavaviaprom
Plotnikov N. E. — Flight mechanic

Passengers

Baranov P. I. — Deputy Commissar of Heavy Industry, Head of the Main Directorate of Aviation Industry
B. M. Baranova — his wife (who persuaded her husband to take her to Crimea, where their children were vacationing)
Goltsman A. Z. — Head of the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet of the USSR
Petrov (Sergeyev) A. V. — Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet
Gorbunov S. P. — Director of the Aviation Plant No. 22
Zarzar V. A. — Member of the Presidium of the State Planning Committee of the USSR

The weather conditions were poor, but Baranov insisted on the departure. At 09:00, the ANT-7 took off from Moscow. 20 minutes later, near Podolsk, the low-flying airliner snagged the undercarriage on a wire of an amateur radio antenna, which was stretched on high poles. Losing speed, the aircraft then struck the top of a tall white willow with the aileron of its left wing, causing the left wing section to separate from the aircraft. The ANT-7 then lost control, crashed into the ground and was completely destroyed. All 8 people on board died.^[1]

On September 5th at 9:20 a.m., south of Podolsk, near the Lopasnya station, due to an airplane crash, the following people died: Deputy Commissar of Heavy Industry, Head of the Main Directorate of Aviation Industry Comrade Baranov Pyotr Ionovich, Head of the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet Comrade Goltsman A. Z., Director of Plant No. 22 Comrade Gorbunov S. P., Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet Comrade Petrov A. V., Member of the Presidium of the State Planning Committee of the USSR Comrade Zarzar V. A., Chief Pilot Comrade Dorfman I. M., Flight Mechanic Plotnikov N. E., and Comrade B. M. Baranova. The government granted personal pensions to the families of the deceased.
— “Pravda”, September 6, 1933^[2]

Causes

The crash almost completely repeated the crash near Naro-Fominsk that occurred two years earlier — the aircraft, flying in foggy conditions and at a dangerously low altitude, collided with trees and then crashed into the ground. Various reasons were given as to why pilot Dorfman was flying at such a low altitude. Some believed that the pilot was not actually experienced enough and undeservedly held the position of chief pilot. Others believed that the aircraft was overloaded, which prevented it from gaining altitude.^[3] The investigation commission concluded that due to low cloud cover, and lacking equipment (instruments and radio equipment) for blind flights, the pilot was forced to fly the airliner at such a low altitude to avoid losing sight of the ground, which led to the collision with obstacles.^[1]

Aftermath

The crash effectively decapitated the Soviet aviation industry and civil aviation. Two years before the incident, high-ranking party officials were banned from flying on aircraft. Joseph Stalin was vacationing in Sochi when he learned of the incident, while Lazar Kaganovich was "in charge" in Moscow at the time and received the following telegram.

Flying by responsible non-pilot officials without permission from the Central Committee must be prohibited under threat of expulsion from the party. This prohibition must be strictly enforced, and violators should be expelled regardless of their rank
— Stalin I. V. ^[3]

As a result, the Politburo created and approved by Stalin a list of posts, from members of the Central Committee to heads of main directorates of people's commissariats, who were forbidden to fly freely. For the first time in the country, an annual qualification check for pilots was introduced. The aviation industry was now required to equip every aircraft with all necessary equipment for instrument flights. Unauthorized modifications of aircraft and the transportation of passengers on untested airliners were also prohibited. But more significantly, the Soviet Union created navigation, meteorological, and navigation services, and all tall structures, including radio antennas, were now required to be marked with signal lights. Additionally, work on the creation of the Air Code was expedited. Twenty-three years later, in 1956, a special government aviation unit was established to transport party leaders.^[3]

Related Research Articles

The Tupolev Tu-144 is a Soviet supersonic passenger airliner designed by Tupolev in operation from 1968 to 1999.

The Tupolev Tu-124 is a 56-passenger short-range twin-jet airliner built in the Soviet Union. It was the first Soviet airliner powered by turbofan engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sukhoi</span> Aircraft manufacturer in Russia

The JSCSukhoi Company is a Russian aircraft manufacturer, headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and military aircraft. It was founded in the Soviet Union by Pavel Sukhoi in 1939 as the Sukhoi Design Bureau. During February 2006, the Russian government merged Sukhoi with Mikoyan, Ilyushin, Irkut, Tupolev, and Yakovlev as a new company named United Aircraft Corporation.

Tupolev, officially Public Joint Stock Company Tupolev, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Basmanny District, Moscow.

The Tupolev ANT-20 Maxim Gorky was a Soviet eight-engine aircraft, the largest in the world during the 1930s. Its wingspan was similar to that of a modern Boeing 747, and was not exceeded until the 64.6-metre (212 ft) wingspan Douglas XB-19 heavy bomber prototype first flew in 1941.

The Tupolev ANT-25 was a Soviet long-range experimental aircraft which was also tried as a bomber. First constructed in 1933, it was used by the Soviet Union for a number of record-breaking flights.

Founded in 1923, Aeroflot, the flag carrier and largest airline of Russia, has had a high number of fatal crashes, with a total of 8,231 passengers dying in Aeroflot crashes according to the Aircraft Crashes Record Office, mostly during the Soviet era, about five times more than any other airline. From 1946 to 1989, the carrier was involved in 721 incidents. From 1995 to 2017, the carrier was involved in 10 incidents. In 2013, AirlineRatings.com reported that five of the ten aircraft models involved in the highest numbers of fatal accidents were old Soviet models.

Aeroflot Flight 141 was an international flight from Moscow to Prague. On 19 February 1973, the Tupolev Tu-154 crashed 1.5 kilometres short of runway 25 of Prague Ruzyně Airport. Most of the passengers survived the crash, but many died in the fire that followed. Out of the 87 passengers and 13 crew members, 62 passengers and 4 crew members perished with 18 occupants having serious injuries and the remaining 16 with either minor or no injuries. The crash was the first loss of and first fatal accident involving the Tu-154.

Red Wings Airlines Flight 9268 was a Tupolev Tu-204-100 passenger jet that on 29 December 2012 crashed on landing at Moscow Vnukovo Airport, Russia, following a repositioning flight from Pardubice Airport, Czech Republic. There were no passengers on board, but 5 of the 8 crew members were killed when the aircraft hit a ditch and highway structures after overrunning the runway.

Aeroflot Flight 15 was a passenger flight from Moscow-Domodedovo Airport to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport with a stopover at Yemelyanovo Airport that crashed on 29 February 1968 en route to Petropavlovsk. All but one aboard the aircraft were killed in the crash.

Aeroflot Flight 03 was a passenger flight from Vnukovo Airport to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport via Khabarovsk Airport. On 3 September 1962 the Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104 lost control after the airframe started vibrating, resulting in the plane rolling and yawing several times at an altitude of 4,500 meters before crashing. The aircraft crashed into a swamp, some 90 kilometers away from Khabarovsk. At the time, it was the deadliest crash in the history of Soviet aviation.

Aeroflot Flight 065 was a scheduled passenger flight operated by the International Civil Aviation Directorate division of Aeroflot. On 17 February 1966 at 1:38 am local time a Tupolev Tu-114 crashed during take-off from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, killing 21 of the 47 passengers and 19 crew members on board. This was the only fatal incident involving a Tu-114. A committee investigating the accident found that the crash was due to multiple crew and ATC failures.

Aeroflot Flight 1912 was a scheduled domestic Aeroflot passenger flight on the Odessa-Kiev (Kyiv)-Chelyabinsk-Novosibirsk-Irkutsk-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok route that crashed on 25 July 1971, making a hard landing at Irkutsk Airport. It touched down 150 metres (490 ft) short of the runway, breaking the left wing and catching fire. Of the 126 people on board the aircraft, 29 survived.

Aeroflot Flight 04 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Khabarovsk to Moscow with a stopover in Irkutsk that crashed on 15 August 1958, killing all 64 passengers and crew aboard the aircraft. It was the first fatal accident involving a Tupolev Tu-104.

Aeroflot Flight 5484 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Odesa to Kazan with a stopover in Kyiv that experienced loss of control followed by breaking up in the air on 29 August 1979 over the Tambov Oblast, killing all 63 people on board. It remains the deadliest Tu-124 crash and regular passenger services with the Tu-124 were permanently suspended after the accident, but the Tu-124 was still used by the Soviet military after the accident.

Aeroflot Flight 207 was a Soviet domestic passenger flight from Rostov-on-Don Airport to Tbilisi International Airport that crashed on 10 June 1960 in the Tkvarcheli district. The crash involved an Ilyushin Il-14 aircraft operated by Aeroflot. There were 24 passengers and 7 crew on board, all of whom perished in the crash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyotr Baranov</span> Soviet Air Force commander and politician

Pyotr Ionovich Baranov was a Soviet military commander and politician who was one of the main creators and organizers of the Air Force and the aircraft industry of the Soviet Union.

On 14 December 1942, a Tupolev ANT-20bis aircraft operated by Russian airline Aeroflot crashed during a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Urgench to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. All 36 people on board died, and the accident was due to a loss of control.

Aeroflot Flight 11 was an aviation accident involving an Ilyushin Il-12 aircraft operated by Aeroflot, which occurred on Tuesday, October 1 1957 near the village of Aksha, Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia. The crash resulted in the deaths of 27 people.

G-2 Crash near Alma-Ata was an aviation accident involving a G-2 aircraft operated by Aeroflot near Alma-Ata on 26 December 1941. The crash resulted in the deaths of 26 people, including several leaders of the Kazakh SSR. This was the first documented air disaster on the territory of Kazakhstan.

References

1 2 3 4 Chertok, Boris Evseyevich (1999). Rockets and People. Fili — Podlipki — Tyuratam (2nd ed.). Moscow: Mashynostroyenie. p. 448. ISBN 5-217-02934-X.
↑ Bodrikhin, Nikolay Georgiyevich (2011). Tupolev. Lives of Remarkable People. Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya. p. 455. ISBN 978-5235034396.
1 2 3 Zhirnov, Yevgeny (2008-09-08). "Absurd and Terrible Disaster". Kommersant . Archived from the original on 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2014-08-16.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Chertok-1] 1 2 3 4 Chertok, Boris Evseyevich (1999). Rockets and People. Fili — Podlipki — Tyuratam (2nd ed.). Moscow: Mashynostroyenie. p. 448. ISBN 5-217-02934-X.

[2] Bodrikhin, Nikolay Georgiyevich (2011). Tupolev. Lives of Remarkable People. Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya. p. 455. ISBN 978-5235034396.

[Kommersant-3] 1 2 3 Zhirnov, Yevgeny (2008-09-08). "Absurd and Terrible Disaster". Kommersant . Archived from the original on 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2014-08-16.

[1]

[2]

[3]