1994 Vanavara Yakovlev Yak-40 crash

Last updated

The 1994 Vanavara air disaster occurred on 26 September 1994 when a Yakovlev Yak-40, operated by Russian regional airliner Cheremshanka Airlines, crashed onto the bank of a river near Vanavara, Russia. All 24 passengers and 4 crew members died. [1]

Contents

1994 Vanavara air disaster
Yakovlev Yak-40, Aero Limousine JP7766396.jpg
A Yak-40 similar to the one involved in the disaster
Accident
Date26 September 1994
Summary Fuel exhaustion due to pilot error
SiteVanavary, Evenki Autonomous District, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia
Aircraft
Aircraft type Yakovlev Yak-40
Operator Cheremshanka Airlines
Registration RA-87468
Flight origin Krasnoyarsk Airport, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia
Destination Tura Airport, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia
Passengers24
Crew4
Fatalities28
Survivors0

60°41′34″N102°4′56″E / 60.69278°N 102.08222°E / 60.69278; 102.08222

The Russian investigation team concluded that pilot error was the cause of the crash. Poor weather conditions had required the flight to abort several landing attempts and the air crew failed to maintain awareness of the fuel quantity. This resulted in the aircraft crashing due to fuel exhaustion.

Subsequently, the investigation team blamed the airport for "not reporting the weather condition" in a timely manner to the crew. [1] [2]

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Yakovlev Yak-40 which bore a Russian registration of RA-87468. The airliner was manufactured in Saratov Aviation Plant on 11 November 1974 with a serial number of 9441337. It was re-registered as CCCP-87468 and was handed over to the Ministry of Civil Aviation of the USSR. On November 16 the aircraft was sent to the Kazakh Civil Aviation Administration. Fourteen years later, on 16 November 1988, the 87468 was operated by the Krasnoyarsk Civil Aviation Administration. Cheremshanka Airlines later retrieved the Yak-40 in 1993. [3]

The total operating time of the aircraft was 22,203 flight hours and a flight cycle of 17,220 cycles. [3]

Flight

The flight was operated by Cheremshanka Airlines, a regional airline based at Krasnoyarsk Cheremshanka Airport. At the time of the accident, the Yakovlev Yak-40 was carrying 24 passengers, including 21 adults and 3 children, and 4 crew members. The pilot of the flight was Captain Anatoliy A. Danilov and the co-pilot was First Officer Anatoliy G. Shcherbakov. Also on board was a flight mechanic Mikhail N. Shurpatov and one flight attendant. [3]

Weather conditions had begun to deteriorate while the aircraft was en route to Tura Airport, but ATC in Tura failed to inform the flight crew of the changing conditions. The crew were therefore caught unaware by the poor weather when they arrived in Tura. Due to the limited visibility, the crew missed the airport. After three failed landing attempts, the crew decided to divert to Vanavara airfield, a small airport some 453 kilometers away from Tura Airport. [3]

41 kilometers from Vanavara, at an altitude of 3,000 meters, the airliner's engines flamed out as the fuel supply was exhausted. The crew then decided to make an emergency landing in a swamp. Two helicopters and an An-24 aircraft were trying to help, suggesting the Yak-40's direction to the swamp where it would be possible to make an emergency landing. The crew then decided to land on the bank of the Chamba River. [3]

Captain Danilov ordered First Officer Shcherbakov and the flight mechanic Shurpatov to look out from the window and see if they could find the Chamba River. The landing gear was extended by the crew started its initial descent. At a speed of 235 km/h, the aircraft sheared tree tops and the right wing detached from the airframe. The Yak-40 then rolled severely to the right and crashed into the bank of the Chamba River inverted, with the front portion in the water and the empennage resting on shore. There was no explosion or fire since the aircraft had run out of fuel, but the impact was not survivable. All 28 people on board died. [3]

Footage from the crash site, taken from a helicopter, showed that the cockpit of the Yak-40 was completely destroyed. The fuselage was crushed severely while the tail was relatively intact. Crash victims, along with their belongings, were strewn in a large grassy area near the wreckage. [3]

Investigation

The investigation was hampered by the fact that the recording of the crew's conversation with ATC at Tura Airport was somehow lost before the official investigation began. A.M Chernov, the owner of Cheremshanka Airlines, ordered that before the records were transferred to the investigation team, he should listen to them first. After the records were transferred to the Russian investigation team, the recordings were not to be found, which could indicate possible sabotage by Chernov. [3]

The investigation found that there were several serious shortcomings in the organization of flight work at Cheremshanka Airlines, as well as in the flight safety culture in the air traffic control at Tura Airport. Employees of Tura ATC wrote letters and at trade union meetings raised the issue that disorganization and the lack of a safety culture were endemic at Tura ATC. However, management of the Tura Aviation Enterprise did not eliminate these shortcomings, and the Krasnoyarsk regional air transport department did not control its work properly. [3]

Conclusion from Russian investigative team

The commission investigating the incident concluded that the catastrophe occurred due to a number of factors:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakovlev Yak-42</span> Soviet mid-range jet airliner

The Yakovlev Yak-42 is a 100/120-seat three-engined mid-range passenger jet developed in the mid 1970s to replace the technically obsolete Tupolev Tu-134. It was the first airliner produced in the Soviet Union to be powered by modern high-bypass turbofan engines.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1978.

Kazakhstan Airlines was an airline from Kazakhstan, serving as national flag carrier of the country from its independence in 1991 until 1996. Following the disaster of the Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Kazakhstan Airlines ceased operations, and its role as flag carrier was transferred to Air Kazakhstan.

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Enterprise is a passenger airline with the main base in Yelizovo airport, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia. The airline serves local routes in Kamchatka Krai. Since the end of 2012 it is officially called Kamchatka Aviation/Air Enterprise although the old name is also used. In 2020, it became part of Russia's single far-eastern airline, along with four other airlines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ust-Kut Airport</span> Airport in Irkutsk Oblast , Russia

Ust-Kut Airport is an airport in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia which is located 9 km north of Ust-Kut. It services short-haul routes and links the town to Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China General Aviation Flight 7552</span> 1992 passenger plane crash in Nanjing, China

China General Aviation Flight 7552 was a China General Aviation flight from Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport to Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport. On July 31, 1992, the Yakovlev Yak-42D overran runway 06 during takeoff and impacted an embankment at 210 kilometres per hour, 420 metres (1,380 ft) from the threshold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerosvit Flight 241</span> 1997 aviation accident

Aerosvit Flight 241 (VV241/AEW241) was a scheduled international passenger flight from the Ukrainian city of Odesa to Thessaloniki, Greece. On 17 December 1997, the Yakovlev Yak-42 operating the flight registered as UR-42334 flew into a mountainside during a missed approach into Thessaloniki in Greece. All 70 people aboard were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azur Air</span> Russian charter airline

Azur Air, formerly Katekavia and stylised as azurair, is a charter airline and former regional airline in Russia. Initially it was based in Krasnoyarsk Cheremshanka Airport, the domestic airport serving Krasnoyarsk, and its destinations were all within Krasnoyarsk Krai. Nowadays it mainly serves leisure destinations such as the route Moscow to Bodrum, offering an All-Business class charter.

KrasAvia is a scheduled and charter passenger airline based in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. It was established in 1956 as Turin Airline before being renamed Evenkia Avia in 2002 and KrasAvia in 2007. It is Russia's largest regional carrier, with a fleet of 44 aircraft and helicopters. The airline is owned by the administration of the Krasnoyarsk region.

Vanavara is a rural locality in Evenkiysky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Podkamennaya Tunguska River at the mouth of the local Vanavarki River. Population: 3,153 (2010 Census); 3,313 (2002 Census); 5,697 (1989 Soviet census).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeroflot Flight 8641</span> 1982 aviation accident

Aeroflot Flight 8641 was a Yakovlev Yak-42 airliner on a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Leningrad to Kiev. On 28 June 1982, the flight crashed south of Mazyr, Byelorussian SSR, killing all 132 people on board. The accident was both the first and deadliest crash of a Yakovlev Yak-42, and remains the deadliest aviation accident in Belarus.

Sakha Avia was an airline that operated in the Sakha Republic of Russia from 1992 until 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uzbekistan Airways Flight 1154</span> 2004 aviation accident

Uzbekistan Airways Flight 1154 (HY1154/UZB1154) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight which was operated by Uzbekistan flag carrier Uzbekistan Airways from Termez Airport in the city of Termez, near the Afghanistan border, to Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent. On 13 January 2004 the aircraft operating the flight, a Yakovlev Yak-40 registered in Uzbekistan as UK-87985, collided with a radar station while landing at Tashkent, flipped over, caught fire and exploded, killing all 37 people on board. Weather was reportedly in bad condition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Faraz Qeshm Airlines Yak-40 crash</span> Plane crash in northern Iran

The 2001 Faraz Qeshm Airlines Yak-40 crash occurred on 17 May 2001 when a short-haul trijet Yakovlev Yak-40 being operated by Faraz Qeshm Airlines crashed while en route to Gorgan Airport from Tehran-Mehrabad Airport in Iran. The aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain while flying in poor weather conditions about twenty kilometers south of Sari killing all thirty people on board. Passengers aboard the aircraft included Rahman Dadman, Iran's Minister of Roads and Transportation, and six members of parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeroflot Flight 5003 (1967)</span> 1967 aviation accident in Russia

Aeroflot Flight 5003 was a Soviet domestic cargo flight that crashed during climb out on 14 January 1967. The Antonov An-12B was flying between Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk in Russia with a crew of six when it crashed. It was carrying industrial parts from Moscow to Khabarovsk with several intermediate stops in between, however it caught fire shortly after takeoff, resulting in a fatal accident. At the time Flight 5003 was being operated by Polar Aviation Management under Aeroflot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeroflot Flight U-45</span> 1970 aviation accident in the Soviet Union

Aeroflot Flight U-45 was a passenger flight operated by an Ilyushin Il-18 that crashed during the approach to Samarkand on Friday, 6 February 1970, resulting in the death of 92 of the 106 people on board. An investigation revealed the aircraft went below the minimum obstacle clearance altitude (MOCA) during approach to Samarkand International Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 Zheleznogorsk mid-air collision</span> 1981 aviation accident

The 1981 Zheleznogorsk mid-air collision was an accident involving a Yakovlev Yak-40 jet and a Mil Mi-8T helicopter, both operated by the Russian airline Aeroflot, 11 km east of Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy Airport, Soviet Union, on 18 September 1981. None of the combined 40 passengers and crew on either aircraft survived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeroflot Flight 136</span> Aviation accident on 28 October 1954

Aeroflot Flight 136 was an aviation disaster involving an Ilyushin Il-12P passenger aircraft operated by Aeroflot, which occurred on Thursday, October 28, 1954, in Krasnoyarsk Krai on the slope of Mount Sivukha. The crash resulted in the deaths of 19 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeroflot-Yugavia Flight 519</span>

The Aeroflot-Yugavia Flight 519 was a major aviation accident that occurred on Thursday, November 7, 1991, in the vicinity of Makhachkala involving a Yak-40 aircraft of the Yugavia aviation concern ("Aeroflot-Yugavia"), resulting in the deaths of 51 people.

References

  1. 1 2 "Crash of a Yakovlev Yak-40 in Vanavara: 28 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Archived from the original on 2017-04-21. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  2. "Plane crashes for airlines of Russia and the former Soviet Union". AirSafe.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Авиационные происшествия, инциденты и авиакатастрофы в СССР и России" (in Russian). Air Disasters.ru.