Polyarnaya Aviatsiya

Lisunov LI-2

On a flight from Nizhniye Kresty (now Cherski) to Pevek on a survey flight of the icy continent, the copilot decided to cut the route short when the captain was in the passenger cabin and overflew Cape Shelagski (469 meters). On approach to the cape, the aircraft was caught by strong downdraft and eventually struck the hill with the lower fuselage, was thrown up into the air again and eventually crashed into a large boulder and caught fire. Three crew members were rescued while seven others occupants were killed.

Lisunov LI-2

During the takeoff roll on a 750 meters long icy runway, while at a speed of 70-80 km/h, the left ski struck an irregularity on the ground. The airplane bounced, climbed to a height of 1,5-2 meters then stalled and crashed 300 meters farther. All six crew members were uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Lisunov LI-2

The crew was completing an ambulance flight from Amderma to Ust-Kara to pick up a patient back to Amderma. After decending successively to 600 meters and 300 meters in marginal weather conditions (limited visibility to 4 km in rain and snow, low clouds), the pilot decided to continue the descent despite he could not clearly locate the runway. On short final, the airplane struck the snowy ground and plunged in a deep snow layer (60 cm), slid for several yards and came to rest 250 meters short of runway threshold. All occupants were evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Ilyushin II-14

On the leg from Mys Kosistyy to Khatanga of a flight from Pevek to Moscow during the polar night, the aircraft deviated from the prescribed flight path to the left by 38 km. The crew descended prematurely and the twin engine aircraft hit the slope of a hill (340 metres high) located about 65 km from the Khatanga Airport. It came to rest upside down after some 400 metres and caught fire. The rescue teams arrived on the scene a day later, on December 31. A passenger was seriously injured while all 16 other occupants were killed.

Antonov AN-2

Crashed in unknown circumstances some 60 km from Igarka, killing all three crew members.

Lisunov LI-2

At Mirny Ice Station, the crew was ready for takeoff and taxied to the runway when the airplane failed to enter the runway, skidded and got stuck on the edge of the runway. There were no injuries among the occupants and several attempts were made to salvage the airplane but without success. The ice broke out and the airplane drifted down.

Lisunov LI-2

On a flight from Komsomolskaya Ice Station to Mirny Ice Station, the crew forgot to switch over the fuel tank selector so both engines flamed out. The aircraft crash landed on the ice-shield some 80 km from the abandoned Vostok-1 Ice Station, some 3,000 meters above sea level. There were no casualties. The exact date of the occurrence remains unknown (sometime in February 1958).

Lisunov LI-2

On a flight from the area of Mount Brown to the Mirny Ice Station, the pilot lifted off at low speed and retracted the gear too early, causing the aircraft to stall and crash. There were no casualties. The accident occurred sometime in February 1958 (exact date unknown).

Antonov AN-2

The crew was engaged in a geophysical mission in the Chukotka okrug. While approaching a mountainous area, the airplane was too low and the pilot elected to gain height. In a steep angle, the aircraft stalled and crashed on a rocky terrain. All occupants were slightly injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Beriev Be-6

While cruising under VFR at an altitude of 2,100 meters, the right engine failed and caught fire. The crew elected to extinguish the fire but without success. Shortly later, the engine detached and struck the right tail, causing the aircraft to enter a spin and to crash in a steppe located about 55 km west of Mys Kamenny. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact and all 6 crew members were killed.

Lisunov LI-2

The crew was engaged in a night training mission when the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in the vicinity of the Cherepovets Airport. All four crew were killed.

Ilyushin II-12

The final approach was completed in low clouds and marginal visibility when the airplane hit the runway surface and bounced. On impact, the undercarriage were severely damaged, the aircraft rolled for 400 meters and then veered off runway to the right before coming to rest. There were no injuries but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Ilyushin II-12

The crew was completing a supply mission to the ice expedition christened 'Sever 7'. On approach to Nagurskoye ice strip, the pilot in command encountered low visibility due to thick fog. Rather than to divert to a suitable terrain, he tried three times to land, without success. During the fourth attempt to land, the aircraft was too low and misaligned when it struck the ground on short final. On touchdown, the left main gear was sheared off and the aircraft went out of control and came to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Lisunov LI-2

On a flight from Bukhta Somnitelnaya (Wrangel Island) to a drifting ice floe in the central Arctic Basin when the ski of the right main landing gear hit an ice hummock during the landing run and broke. The nose of the aircraft touched the ice and the fuselage broke into three when falling back onto the ice. All 6 crew and 4 passengers escaped unhurt and were evacuated by another aircraft. The wreck was set on fire and abandoned on the drifting ice floe. It was spotted by an aircraft of the Icelandic Coast Guard about 155 miles north-west of Iceland (approximately 10-20 miles off Scoresby Sound on Greenland's East Coast) 11DEC1959 but could no longer be found a few days later because of fog. It eventually sank.

Lisunov LI-2

On a flight from Mys Zhelaniya (Novaya Zemlya) to Dikson Island in support of the Arctic expedition 'Sever 7' when the crew was ordered to land on the ice near Mys Zhelaniya for training purposes. The skis of the landing gear broke through the ice during the landing run. All 7 crew and 3 passengers escaped unhurt but the aircraft could not be recovered in time and sank during a storm 06APR55.

Ilyushin II-12

While cruising at an altitude of 2,700 meters between Amderma and Arkhangelsk, a technical failure occurred on the manifold of the left engine, causing fuel to spill in the nacelle and a fire to develop. The crew tried to extinguish the fire but without success. So the captain decided to attempt an emergency landing when the aircraft hit trees and crashed in a dense wooded area located near Poltozero Lake. Rescuers arrived on site a day later and were able to evacuate 26 wounded people while five others were killed, among them four crew members as the cockpit was totally destroyed upon impact.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

On approach to SP-3 Polar Station in foggy conditions, the airplane was too low and hit a hummocked ice ridge. On impact, the skis were sheared off and the aircraft belly landed and came to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was not repaired.

Antonov AN-2

The crew was performing a supply mission to the Arctic expedition 'Sever' located on a drifting ice floe near the North Pole (at N89.1500 W90.0000). On approach, while at a height of 15 meters, the aircraft pitched down and crashed in flames on the ice. All five occupants were able to evacuate the cabin and were slightly injured. The aircraft was quickly destroyed by fire.

Antonov AN-2

The single engine aircraft left Ust-Tareya Airport at 1025LT bound for a remote airfield located on an island on the Piasyna River, about 35 km from Ust-Tareya, carrying two passengers (among them a doctor) and four crew members. Upon arrival, the pilot (M. N. Tomilin) decided not to land on the airfield but close to the buildings of the GGU geological expedition. Due to strong cross winds and the difficulties of the terrain, he was unable to land and was forced to make a go around. After three unsuccessful attempts to land, he elected to go around again when the aircraft, with full flaps extended, encountered gusty winds and lost speed. The left wing stalled and the aircraft crashed in flames, killing all six occupants.

Antonov AN-2

On a positioning flight from the Tukalan River to a remote area when the wheels got stuck in the soft ground during the takeoff run. The aircraft nosed over and caught fire. Both pilots escaped unhurt but the aircraft was destroyed by fire.

Antonov AN-2

After takeoff from an area located along the Lena River, in the region of Yakutsk, while climbing to a height of 50-60 meters, the single engine aircraft banked left to 65° and nosed down to 25° then plunged into the Lena River about 200 meters offshore. All four crew members were able to evacuate the cabin but only three reached the shore as the flight engineer was drowned.

Lisunov LI-2

While taking off, the aircraft hit ice hummocks with its right wing and crashed. The occupant fate remains unknown.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

While taking off by night at a speed of about 80 mph, the airplane encountered problem to gain height when the left wing hit an ice heap. The left main gear was sheared off and the aircraft banked left to right. The right wing hit an ice heap as well and the aircraft stalled before crashing and coming to rest 800 meters past the runway end. The captain and the flight engineer were injured while five other occupants were unhurt. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and abandoned in situ. Without giving further details, investigators stated that the captain has had a dismissive and arrogant attitude before departure and started the flight by demonstrating overconfidence.

Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina

The seaplane was carrying one passenger and five crew members who were completing a post maintenance test flight. The crew was attempting to land in the Khimki Reservoir located northwest of Moscow when the aircraft hit the water surface, nosed down and overturned. Two crew members were killed while three other occupants were injured. The passenger was unhurt and the aircraft sank and was lost.

Focke-Wulf Fw.200 Condor

After touchdown in Yakutsk Airport, the airplane skidded and veered off runway to the right, lost its left main gear and completed a spin before coming to rest. While all nine occupants escaped unhurt, the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair due to severe damages on both left engines and the left wing as well. At the time of the accident, a crosswind of 18 km/h was blowing over the airport.

Lisunov LI-2

The crew was performing a cargo flight from Kresty Kolymskiye to Mys Kosistyy with an intermediate stop in Chokurdakh. Approaching this airport, weather conditions were poor and the captain decided to divert to the alternate airport of Ust-Yansk located 420 km west of Chokurdakh. On ground at Ust-Yansk, a technical problem was identified on the right engine. After repairs, some tests were made for 1 hour and 10 minutes and as they were conclusive, it was decided to proceed to Mys Kosistyy. En route, while cruising at an altitude of 2,100 meters, the crew encountered technical problems with the right engine due to a loss of hydraulic pressure. The pilot was able to shut the engine down but unfortunately, it was not possible to feather the propeller. Due to high drag, the aircraft was unable to maintain a safe altitude and the crew elected to make an emergency landing. While descending through clouds, the crew encountered icing conditions and the windscreen was covered by ice. In such conditions, the pilot was unable to distinguish the ground when the aircraft crashed in a frozen area located 16 km east of Mys Kosistyy. The wreckage and the six dead bodies were found 16 days later, on November 17, 1948.

Lisunov LI-2

The crew was engaged in a reconnaissance mission in the region of the Franz Josef archipelago. While returning to Amderma, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with strong headwind, fog and low visibility. In such conditions, the crew lost his orientation and deviated from the prescribed flight path to the west by 210 km. As fuel seemed to be insufficient to reach Amderma under these conditions, the captain decided to divert to Novaya Zemlya, but failed to regain orientation and missed Novaya Zemlya while flying through the Kara Straits. After being in the air for 15 hours and 12 minutes, the aircraft ran out of fuel. The crew prepared for a ditching in high seas in the Barents Sea between Varandei island, Matveyev Island and Cape Medynski Zavorot by night. An empty dinghy was found few days later but no trace of the seven crew members nor the aircraft that was lost. It was determined that the crew was able to evacuate the cabin but probably did not survive to the extreme outside conditions. Investigators did not understand why the operator and the pilots decided to perform such mission in such conditions with this type of aircraft that was not suitable for this.

Lisunov LI-2

Following the disappearance of a LI-2 registered CCCP-N444 on March 7, rescue operations were conducted and dispatched. Unfortunately, due to poor weather conditions (heavy snow falls), most of the crew were forced to stay on the ground. That day, a crew decided to make a sortie but the runway at Vorkuta Airport has not been cleared of snow. The captain ask three crew members to seat in the rear of the cabin and started the takeoff procedure on a snow covered runway (up to 30 cm of snow). After a course of about 700 meters, the aircraft lifted off but failed to gain height due to an insufficient speed. After passing the runway end, the aircraft hit the roof of a house, lost an engine, stalled and crashed in a field. All six crew members were injured and the aircraft was written off.

Lisunov LI-2

While flying by night from Dudinka to Amderma, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and due to low visibility, became lost. The aircraft hit the eastern slope of Mt Netem-Pe (1,338 meters high) located 143 km north of Kharp, in the Iamalo-Nenets okrug. As the aircraft failed to arrive, SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft was found. Walkers found the wreckage in an isolated area on September 17, 1950. All 20 occupants were killed. It appears the crew was tired at the time of the accident and did not have a sufficient rest time prior to start the flight.

Ilyushin II-12

The crew was performing a positioning flight from Kimry-Borki to Moscow-Zakharkovo. Few minutes after takeoff, the left engine lost oil pressure and power. The captain elected to make an emergency landing but the aircraft crashed in a wooded area located in Taldom, about 13 km southeast of Borki Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all five crew members were injured. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were poor with a cloud base at 100 meters and an horizontal visibility limited to two km. It appears that the crew did not receive any permission to complete this positioning flight to Moscow.

Petlyakov Pe-8

On landing at Mys Kosistyy, near the Khatanga Bay, when had to go around due to strong cross winds. Engines # 3 and 4 flamed out shortly afterwards so the aircraft stalled and crashed in the tundra some 1,500 meters from the runway. While the aircraft was damaged beyond repair, all six occupants escaped unhurt.

Siebel Si-204

While cruising at an altitude of 1,300 meters en route to Kramatorsk, Ukraine, the left engine failed. Shortly later, the right engine overheated and lost power. In such situation, the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing when the aircraft crash landed onto a hillside. All five occupants were unhurt while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Siebel Si-204

Shortly after takeoff from Dudinka Airport, while climbing to a height of 40 meters, the aircraft stalled and crashed on the right embankment of the Yenisei River, about 180 meters from the runway end. The captain V. L. Brekhov was killed while all three other occupants were injured.

Focke-Wulf Fw.200 Condor

Enroute, the crew encountered technical problems with two engines that should be shut down and their propeller feathered. Few minutes later, a third engine failed and the captain decided to attempt an emergency landing in the icy bay of Bajdarackaja Guba located in the south part of the Kara Sea. The aircraft crashed landed on ice and came to rest with its right wing broken in two and the engine number one sheared off. All 21 occupants were evacuated 16 days later. Recently imported in Russia, the aircraft totalized 90 flying hours only.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

During the takeoff roll, the copilot retracted the landing gear prematurely and switched off the spotlights, without any authorization from the captain. When he tried to switch them on, the aircraft sank back onto the runway and landed on its belly. Then it skidded for several yards before coming to rest in flames. Three occupants were injured while three others were unhurt. The aircraft was written off.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Enroute to Tiksi, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and lost his orientation. Later, both engines failed due to fuel exhaustion and the captain attempted to make an emergency landing. The aircraft eventually crash landed about 2 km from the Tiksi Airfield and came to rest in a prairie. While there were no casualties, the aircraft was written off.

Siebel Si-204

The aircraft was grounded on September 25, 1945, due to technical problems on the right engine, and was ferried for repair to the Osoaviakhim Airfield in Krasnoyarsk where it was used for some unauthorized training flights between 17 and 20 of October. On October 20, on a ferry flight from the Osoaviakhim Airfield to an airfield on the Molokov island located in the Yenisei River for repair (as the repair capacities at the Osoaviakhim Airfield were limited), the right engine caught fire some 3-4 minutes into the flight. Smoke spread in the cabin and the intoxicated pilot decided to return to the Osoaviakhim Airfield but did not manage to do it. The aircraft lost height on final approach, hit a fence and crash landed. The pilot was killed while the flight mechanic as well as the sole (unauthorized) passenger were injured.

Tupolev ANT-4 (TB-1 & G-1)

The crew was performing a flight from Kresty Kolymsky to Anadyr on behalf of the Chukotskaya Aviagruppa on this Tupolev G-1, a version of the ANT-4. The captain (M. N. Tomilin) decided to cut the route short when shortly later, he encountered below-minima weather conditions (poor visibility, snow and icing). Instead to return, he decided to continue in such conditions when the aircraft crash-landed in the foothills of the Pekulny range on the upper reaches of the Afonkin River, some 60 km east of Stalino (now Mukhomornaya). The aircraft was lost while all three crew members were slightly injured and rescued.

Tupolev ANT-4 (TB-1 & G-1)

The pilot failed to cope with landing on the river Anadyr near Snezhnoye in 'mirror' conditions. The aircraft crashed into the water and came to rest in a depth of 8-9 meters. All four crew members were killed.

Tupolev ANT-6 (TB-3 & G-2)

On a flight from Bukhta Tikhaya to Buhkta Teplits (N81°47.5') on Rudolph island (Franz-Joseph-Land Archipelago) when had to go around due to a layer of ground fog. Insufficient crew resource management resulted in the aircraft entering the fog layer. The ski of the left main landing gear hit the snow and the undercarriage was ripped off. Aircraft crashed and came to rest on ice. Two crew and one passenger were seriously injured while two other crew and two other passengers were slightly injured. The wreckage still in site in 2006.

Bolkhovitinov DB-A

The crew was performing a transpolar flight from Moscow to New York with intermediate stops in Fairbanks and Chicago. While flying probably over the north part of Siberia, maybe over the Arctic Ocean, the aircraft disappeared as all radio communications ceased. Important SAR operations were conducted but all search were eventually suspended as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found. Among the six aviators was the famous Soviet aviation pioneer Sigismond Levanevsky. Crew: Sigismond Levanevsky, captain, Nikolai Kastanayev, second pilot, Nikolai Galkovsky, radio operator, Grigory Pobezhimov, flight engineer, Nikolai Godovikov, flight engineer, Viktor Levchenko, navigator.

Polikarpov P-5

Crashed in unknown circumstances.

Dornier Do J Wal

Crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in Russia. The exact date of the mishap remains unknown, somewhere in the year 1934.

Polikarpov U-2

Crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in Russia. The exact date of the mishap remains unknown, somewhere in the year 1934.

Polikarpov P-5

Crashed in unknown circumstances.

Savoia-Marchetti S.55

The seaplane departed Sevastopol on a flight to Cape Severny with several en route stops, carrying one passenger (one journalist from the Komsomolskaya Pravda) and four crew members. On the leg from Yeysk to Volsk, while flying over the Volga River at a speed of 175-200 km/h and at a height of about 10-15 metres, the airplane encountered a cold front, lost altitude and crashed into the river, some 300 metres from the shore. Fishermen were able to rescue two crew members while three other occupants were killed.

Dornier Do J Wal

Crashed in unknown circumstances in the Matochkine Strait, coming to rest broken in two. Occupant's fate unknown.

Polikarpov P-5

Crashed in unknown circumstances.

Polikarpov U-2

Crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in Russia. The exact date of the mishap remains unknown, somewhere in April 1932.