1946 Kolpny Li-2 crash

1946 Kolpny Li-2 crash

Li-2 of Aeroflot
Accident
Date	14 January 1946 (1946-01-14)
Summary	Tail icing, in-flight breakup
Site	Near Netrubezh, Kolpnyansky District, Oryol Oblast
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Lisunov Li-2
Operator	Aeroflot (Ukrainian Territorial Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet, 23rd Transport Aviation Detachment)
Registration	СССР-Л4150
Flight origin	Kharkiv Airport, Kharkiv
Destination	Vnukovo Airport, Moscow
Occupants	22
Passengers	17
Crew	5
Fatalities	22
Survivors	0

The 1946 Kolpny Li-2 crash was a passenger aircraft accident involving a Lisunov Li-2 operated by Aeroflot that occurred on 14 January 1946, in the Kolpnyansky District of Oryol Oblast, resulting in the deaths of all 22 people on board.

Crew

• Captain — Ivan Danilovich Onishchenko
• First Officer — Nikita Afanasyevich Makarevich
• Flight engineer — Leonid Pavlovich Yumashev
• Trainee Flight Engineer — Vasily Alexandrovich Kopeikin
• Radio operator — Lidia Fyodorovna Safonova

Accident

The Li-2, tail number СССР-Л4150, from the 23rd Aviation Transport Detachment of the Ukrainian Territorial Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet (Aeroflot), was performing a passenger flight from Kharkiv to Moscow, with 17 passengers and 5 crew members on board.^{[ citation needed ]}

During the flight the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 400–600 m (1,300–2,000 ft) when it entered clouds with severe icing conditions, which was not forecast. Ice began to form on the tail, causing buffeting of the tail, which soon led to the detachment of the left part of the elevator 77 minutes into the flight. Control was lost and the aircraft entered a spin. The crew attempted to recover, but they inadvertently subjected the aircraft to loads that exceeded the structural strength limits. As a result, the Li-2 broke up at an altitude of 150–200 m (490–660 ft) and crashed near the village of Netrubezh in the Kolpnyansky District (center — Kolpny) of Oryol Oblast. All 22 people on board perished. ^[1]

Memorial

A memorial sign to the crew was installed in the Youth Park of Kharkiv. ^[2]

Causes

According to the conclusion of the investigative commission, the crash occurred due to the combination of the following factors:^{[ citation needed ]}

1. The weather forecast provided to the crew was incorrect, and did not indicate the possibility of icing.
2. Poor performance of the meteorological service at Kharkiv Airport.
3. After entering the icing zone, Captain Onishchenko did not attempt to exit the area.

References

1. "Crash of a Lisunov Li-2 in Netrubezh: 22 killed". B3A Archives.
2. "Памятный знак". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-14.