Kuban Airlines Flight 5719

Kuban Airlines crash

An Antonov An-26b of Kuban Airlines, similar to the one involved in the crash
Accident
Date	26 December 1993 (1993-12-26)
Summary	Overloading leading to stall during attempted go-around
Site	Shirak International Airport, Gyumri, Armenia 40°44′21″N43°51′13″E / 40.739167°N 43.853611°E / 40.739167; 43.853611
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Antonov An-26b
Operator	Kuban Airlines
Registration	RA-26141
Flight origin	Pashkovsky, Krasnodar, Russia
Destination	Leniankan, Gyumri, Armenia
Occupants	36
Passengers	31
Crew	5
Fatalities	35
Injuries	1
Survivors	1

On 26 December 1993, Kuban Airlines Flight 5719, a scheduled international flight flying from Krasnodar International Airport, Russia, to Gyumri Shirak International Airport, Armenia, stalled and subsequently crashed whilst attempting a go-around on approach to the airport. Out of the 36 occupants on board, 35 were killed. The sole survivor, Smbat Martirosian, was injured.

Aircraft

The plane had initial registration number CCCP-26141 (serial number — 12903, manufacturing number — 129–03). It was manufactured in 1983. The liner was delivered to the Ministry of Civil Aviation of the USSR, which transferred it on April 14 to the North Caucasus Civil Aviation Directorate. On December 15, the aircraft was temporarily assigned to the Far Eastern Directorate, but returned to the North Caucasus on June 16, 1984. In 1993, the aircraft received a new registration number, RA-26141, AND began to be operated by Kuban Airlines. ^[1]

Accident

The aircraft was conducting flight GW-5719 from Krasnodar to Gyumri, transporting two cars, including a Lada Niva, and luggage. The flight was supposed to carry 6 passengers. However, the crew let 31 passengers board, contrary to the official flight manifest that listed 6 passengers. ^{[2] [3]} According to Komsomolskaya Pravda , the aircraft's weight exceeded its maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 2,246 kilograms (4,952 lb). ^[2]

See also

• Sakha Avia Flight 301 — A similar disaster that occurred 4 months earlier.
• 1993 in aviation

Notes and references

1. "An-26B c/n 12903". Soviet Transport Database. Dutch Aviation Society. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
2. Soroka, Evgeniya (26 December 2021). "Уцелел лишь один пассажир: что стало с выжившим в крупнейшей авиационной катастрофе в Армении после распада СССР" [Only one passenger survived: what happened to the survivor of the largest air crash in Armenia since the collapse of the USSR]. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Retrieved 21 February 2025.
3. Babayan, Mamikon (4 March 2024). "3 самые жуткие авиакатастрофы в небе над Арменией" [3 Most Horrific Air Crashes in the Skies of Armenia]. Vestnik Kavkaza (in Russian). Retrieved 21 February 2025.