Soviet Air Force - Voyenno-vozdushnye sily CCCP

Antonov AN-26

The aircraft departed Magadan-56 Airport on a mission for the KGB and Border Guards. It crashed in unknown circumstances near the Spafaryev Island. All seven crew members were killed.

Ilyushin II-76

The aircraft was completing a cargo flight from Tashkent to Kabul with an intermediate stop in Kokand, Uzbekistan, carrying a load of fuel drums. While descending to Kabul Airport, the crew was instructed by ATC to maintain FL190 as an Afghan Antonov AN-32 was passing just below at FL180. Shortly later, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a huge explosion 7,6 km east of Kabul-Khwaja Rawash Airport. All nine occupants were killed.

Ilyushin II-76

The crew was completing a local training flight at Panevežys-Pajuostis AFB consisting of touch-and-go. After 14 minutes into the mission, the crew completed a touch-and-go then initiated a climb when, at an altitude of 230 feet, the aircraft entered clouds when control was lost. It went in a nose down attitude, descended with a rate of 7,800 feet per minute and crashed at a speed of 275 knots in a wooded area located 3,7 km from the airbase. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all eight crew members were killed. All four engine were turning at full power at impact.

Antonov AN-26

The approach to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-Khalaktyrka Airport was initiated in poor weather conditions. In limited visibility due to rain falls, the crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when, at a height of 1,500 meters, the aircraft struck the slope of a snow covered mountain (2,310 meters high) located 35 km from the airport. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and all 37 occupants were killed.

Ilyushin II-76

Five minutes after takeoff from Nasosny AFB, the engine n°1 suffered an uncontained failure. The crew elected to return when the engine caught fire and detached few minutes later. The left wing caught fire as well and on short final, it detached. Out of control, the aircraft crashed in the Caspian Sea about 5,250 meters short of runway 18 threshold and 500 meters offshore. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 57 occupants were killed. The passengers were paratroopers returning to their base in Zhovtneve (near Bolgrad, Ukraine) after being dispatched in Baku to maintain order following a popular uprising.

Antonov AN-12

While parked at Kirovograd Airport, the aircraft was prepared by the crew for a military/cargo mission. By night, the crew of a Soviet Air Force Sukhoi SU-24 mistakenly initiated a takeoff maneuver from the taxiway when he collided with the parked AN-12. An explosion occurred and both aircraft were destroyed. Four crew members on board the AN-12 were killed as well as one pilot of the Sukhoi and two soldiers on the ground.

Ilyushin II-76

The crew departed Krechevitsky AFB on a local training flight. After several materials have been dropped at low height, the crew elected to gain altitude when he encountered technical problems with the electrical system. The aircraft nosed up to an angle of 26° then climbed from 940 meters to 1,300 metres in few seconds. Suddenly, it adopted a nose down attitude of 55°, entered a dive and crashed at a speed of 570 km/h. The wreckage was found between the villages of Rogavka and Kerest, about 32 km northwest of the airbase. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all seven crew members were killed.

Tupolev TU-134

On final approach by night to Ulan Ude-Mukhino Airport, the aircraft struck the ground 300 meters short of runway, slid for few dozen meters and came to rest, broken in two and bursting into flames. All six crew members were rescued while the aircraft was destroyed.

Antonov AN-12

On approach to Ho Chi Minh-City Airport, the crew encountered below minima weather conditions but the captain decided to continue. On short final, as the aircraft deviated from the approach path, the right main gear struck the ground 114 meters short of runway and was torn off. The right outer wing was damaged as well as the propeller n°4 and both hydraulics systems. The crew decided to return to Cam Ranh Bay Airport. Upon landing, the crew feathered the propeller n°1 and after touchdown, the aircraft veered off runway to the left, hit obstacles and came to rest, bursting into flames. Three occupants were seriously injured while 31 others were killed.

Antonov AN-12

While descending to Kandahar Airport, the four engine aircraft was hit by ground fire. The crew continued the approach and the aircraft landed hard. Upon touchdown, the tail separated and out of control, the aircraft veered off runway and came to rest. All six crew members were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Antonov AN-26

The crew was completing a local training flight at Moscow-Chkalovky Airport consisting of touch-and-go maneuvers. During initial climb, while flying at a height of about 70 meters, the aircraft banked right then lost height and crashed in a lake located near Kudinovo, about 15 km southeast of the airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all six occupants were killed.

Ilyushin II-76

The four engine aircraft departed Dzhankoy AFB on a combined night exercise with a second II-76 registered CCCP-76679 that was also carrying a crew of eight. Apparently following a pilot error, both aircraft collided in mid-air, entered a dive and crashed in Lake Sivash, Crimea. All 16 occupants in both aircraft were killed.

Ilyushin II-76

The four engine aircraft departed Dzhankoy AFB on a combined night exercise with a second II-76 registered CCCP-76685 that was also carrying a crew of eight. Apparently following a pilot error, both aircraft collided in mid-air, entered a dive and crashed in Lake Sivash, Crimea. All 16 occupants in both aircraft were killed.

Antonov AN-22

For unknown reasons, the aircraft landed at an excessive speed of 265 km/h and with a positive acceleration of 2,5 g at Addis Ababa-Bole Airport. Upon touchdown, the undercarriage were severely damaged. All nine crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and later transferred to the Monino Museum in Moscow.

Antonov AN-12

En route to Menongue, the aircraft was shot down by a South African special forces team with a war-booty "Strela-1" SAM on BRDM-2 chassis. The missile hit the engine n°2 and the left wing detached 47 seconds later. Out of control, the aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a dense wooded area located near Luassingua, some 43 km east of Menongue. All 23 occupants were killed, among them Soviet and Angolan Army Officers.

Antonov AN-26

The Antonov AN-26 departed Lviv-Sknyliv Airport at 1202LT and was climbing to 3,900 meters. En route to Moscow, it was carrying 15 people, most of them officers from the Carpathian Military contingent. While cruising in clouds at an altitude of 3,900 meters, the AN-26 collided with an Aeroflot Tupolev TU-134 registered CCCP-65856 that was descending to Lviv Airport on a flight from Tallinn with 79 people on board. Following the collision, both aircraft entered a dive and crashed in an open field located near the city of Zolochiv, about 60 km east of Lviv. Both aircraft were totally destroyed and all 94 occupants were killed.

Antonov AN-30

On return to Kabul from a reconnaissance mission south of the Panjshir Valley when the left engine was hit by a "Strela" shoulder-fired SAM 25 km north of Kabul and caught fire. Four of the six crew members were able to bail out and both pilots tried to land the burning aircraft at Bagram AFB. A first approach was abandoned, and during the second attempt to land, an aileron linkage was destroyed by fire and the aircraft went out of control and crashed in flames, killing both pilots.

Antonov AN-26

The crew was engaged in a training mission in the region of Luhansk when both engines flamed out in flight. The crew completed an emergency landing in an open field located near the village of Novobyelaya. All five crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Ilyushin II-76

The four engine airplane was completing a flight from Tashkent, carrying 11 people and a load of 25 tons of various equipment. On approach, a surface-to-air missile (type Strela) struck the left wing between both engines n°1 and 2. Out of control, the aircraft descended to ground and crashed in a huge explosion about 20 km southeast of Kabul. All 11 occupants were killed.

Tupolev TU-134

Twelve minutes after its takeoff from Zhdanov Airport (Mariupol), while cruising at an altitude of 4,200 meters on a flight to Voroshilovgrad, the crew informed ATC about stability problems while some instruments were unserviceable. The aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and 38 seconds later, at an altitude of 2,750 meters, it disintegrated in the air and eventually crashed in a field located near Donetsk. All 3 crew members and the sole passenger (the commander of VVVAUSh) were killed.

Antonov AN-12

While descending to Mazari Sharif on a flight from Kandahar with a load of ammunitions, the crew encountered poor visibility due to low clouds. After passing below the cloud layer, the four engine aircraft was struck by a surface-to-air missile. Both left engines failed and the aircraft crashed 40 km from Mazari Sharif Airport. All eight occupants were killed.

Tupolev TU-16

Two Tupolev TU-16K of the Soviet Air Force departed Zavitinsk Air Base on a weather reconnaissance mission. Registered CCCP-07034 and CCCP-07514, both military airplanes were carrying a crew of six. While cruising at an altitude of 5,220 meters in good weather conditions, the TU-16 registered CCCP-07514 collided with an Aeroflot Antonov AN-24. Registered CCCP-46653, the AN-24 was completing flight SU811 from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Blagoveshchensk with an intermediate stop in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, carrying 27 passengers and five crew members. It departed Komsomolsk-on-Amur Airport at 1456LT for the second leg of the trip and was cleared to climb to 5'200 meters. Both aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in an uninhabited area located about 70 km east of Zavitinsk. Both aircraft were totally destroyed. All six crew members of the TU-16 were killed as well as 31 occupants on board the AN-24. Three days after the accident, a man aged 20 who was seating in the AN-24 was found slightly injured in the taiga.

Antonov AN-26

Crashed in unknown circumstances upon landing at Khost Airport. There were no casualties.

Antonov AN-22

On approach to Moscow, a fault accumulator caused a fire in the well of the main right gear, while the aircraft was 28 km from Vnukovo on a flight to Sheremetievo. When the fire was detected, the crew decided to divert to Vnukovo Airport (VKO). Electric power was switched from the main system to the emergency one when the aircraft was flying at a height of 3,400 meters some 8 km from VKO. But the emergency system failed also at an altitude of 2,500 meters on approach, leaving the aircraft without any electric power. The crew attempted a emergency belly landing in a field when the aircraft collided with obstacles and a drainage ditch before coming to rest in flames. Three crew members were killed while three others were injured.

Antonov AN-12

While approaching Kabul, the captain deviated from the approach path and failed to initiate a go-around despite he was alerted by other crew members. The aircraft was too high on the glide and landed 2,300 meters pas the runway threshold. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, it overran by 660 meters, hit obstacles and suffered substantial damage. The navigator was killed while all five other occupants were injured.

Ilyushin II-76

The four engine airplane was completing a flight from Tashkent-Yuzhny to Bagram AFB, Kabul, carrying 38 paratroopers and nine crew members. While descending by night at an altitude of 5,000 feet, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located about 36 km from Kabul. The wreckage was found few hours later and none of the 47 occupants survived the crash. The airplane was engaged in the first day of the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan.

Ilyushin II-76

The crew was completing a local training flight at Vitebsk. On approach, a technical problem occurred on the left flap that retracted. The airplane banked left then dove into the ground and crashed about 12 km from the airport. All seven crew members were killed.

Antonov AN-8

The crew was engaged in a night training mission at Stupino-Krutyshki AFB. After takeoff, while climbing, the airplane went out of control and crashed in flames in a wooded area located 4 km from the airfield. All six crew members were killed.

Tupolev TU-124

On final approach to Voroshilovgrad Airport, the crew forgot to lower the undercarriage. The airplane landed on its belly, slid for few dozen meters and came to rest in flames, broken in two. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off. The exact date of the mishap remains unknown, somewhere in 1977.

Antonov AN-22

During the takeoff roll, after he passed V1 speed, the crew decided to abort. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the airplane overran and came to rest. There were no casualties.

Antonov AN-22

The crew was conducting a test flight out from Seshcha AFB, Bryansk oblast. While cruising at an altitude of 6,000 metres, the crew initiated a turn with max rudder deflection when the airplane adopted a high angle of attack and control was lost. The airplane entered a dive, partially disintegrated in the air and eventually crashed in a field located about 20 km from the airbase. All seven crew members were killed.

Antonov AN-22

About 40 minutes after his departure from Dhaka-Tejgaon Airport, en route to New Delhi, the crew declared an emergency after a propeller detached and was rerouted to Panagarh, West Bengal. Unable to lower the gear and the flaps, the captain made a low pass (one meter) above the runway for two km when the right wing dropped and struck the runway surface. Out of control, the airplane crashed and caught fire. All 25 occupants were killed.

Antonov AN-22

The aircraft was engaged in a humanitarian flight from Moscow to Lima, Peru, carrying 15 passengers, a crew of eight and various goods in favor of the victims of the recent earthquake. About 47 minutes after takeoff from Keflavik Airport, radio and radar contact were lost with the aircraft that crashed in unknown circumstances into the North Atlantic Ocean. SAR operations were conducted jointly by Canadian, American, Iceland and Soviet Authorities but not trace of the aircraft nor the 23 occupants was found. All SAR operations were suspended after a month.

Antonov AN-12

The crew was performing a flight from Kedainiai to Ryazan with 91 soldiers and a crew of 5 returning to their base. The aircraft was in the third position of a three-aircraft formation. In the same region was cruising an Aeroflot Ilyushin II-14M registered CCCP-52018. En route from Moscow-Bykovo to Simferopol, Ukraine, via Chernigov and Kirovograd, this second aircraft was carrying 19 passengers and a crew of 5. En route, the crew of the II-14 encountered turbulences while cruising in poor weather conditions. He requested to ATC the permission to modify his altitude but this was denied due to heavy traffic. Despite he was uncleared, the captain started to climb in marginal weather conditions. Shortly later, at a height of 2,950 meters, the II-14M collided with the Soviet Air Force AN-12BP. The collision occurred when the top of the tail of the AN-12 struck the base of the fuselage of the II-14. Both aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in a field, 800 meters from each other. All 120 occupants on both aircraft were killed.

Ilyushin II-18

While descending to Belgrade-Surcin Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. On final, ATC informed the pilot his altitude was insufficient and that he was approaching below the glide. In foggy conditions, the airplane struck trees and crashed in flames in a dense wooded area located on the slope of Mt Avala (520 meters high) located about 20 km from the runway 30 threshold. The wreckage was found about 35 meters below the summit and all 33 occupants were killed. Among the victims were Marshall Sergei S. Biryuzov and General Vladimir I. Zhdanov accompanied by 15 WWII Veterans who were flying to Belgrade to take part to the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the offensive of the city of Belgrade by the Soviet Army on 20 October 1944. Following the accident, all celebrations were cancelled.

Beriev Be-10

Crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in Russia. The crew fate remains unknown. Following this accident, the Beriev Be-10 will be withdrawn from use.

Lisunov LI-2

The landing at Sam Neua-Nathong Airport (the runway is 1,000 meters long and located at an altitude of 1,100 meters) was completed with a tailwind component. After touchdown, the pilot realized he would not be able to stop within the remaining distance so he decided to veer off runway to avoid to crash in a ravine located past the runway end. Doing so, the airplane came to rest in a terrace rice field and was damaged beyond repair. There were no injuries among the occupants.

Ilyushin II-18

The crew (five engineers and five test pilots) were engaged in a local test flight out from Moscow-Sheremetievo Airport. Few minutes after takeoff, the engine number two failed. As it was not possible to feather the propeller, the airplane lost height and speed. The crew decided to return to Sheremetievo Airport for an emergency landing but on final, the airplane stalled and crashed in flames 4 km short of runway threshold. The airplane was destroyed and all ten occupants were killed. The test flight was performed on behalf of AKDON – Aviatsionnaya Krasnoznamyonnaya Diviziya Osobogo Naznacheniya, a division of the Soviet Army.

Lisunov LI-2

The crew was engaged in a local training flight. Shortly after takeoff from the Znamenskoye airbase in Sovietskaïa Gavan, while climbing, the pilot in command made a turn to the right to 15-20° to avoid a mountain on its left. Shortly later, while at a height of 340 meters, he completed a 90° turn to the left when the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located on the southwestern slope of the Mt Kekurnaya. Both pilots were killed while all four other crew members were injured. The aircraft was totally destroyed. Crew: Maj Nikitin Mikhail Zuev, pilot, Cpt Alexei Ivanovich, copilot, Grigory Mikhaïlovitch Kuznetsov, navigator, Zagidulin Fatkulbayan, Hakimovich Popov, Fedor Ivanovitch, Grigoryi Evhen.

Lisunov LI-2

The aircraft was on its way from Moscow to Chelyabinsk, carrying a crew of six and 13 members of the ice hockey team of the VVS Moscow (Ice Hockey Branch of the Army) who should play against the Dzerzhinsky club of Chelyabinsk. Upon arrival in Chelyabinsk, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and as it was not possible to land, the captain decided to divert to Sverdlovsk. Unfortunately, while approaching Sverdlovsk, weather conditions deteriorated and the visibility was poor due to snow falls. Four times, the crew tried to land but was forced to go around. During the fifth attempt to land, the aircraft was too low and crashed in a field few hundred yards short of the runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and all 19 occupants were killed.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

En route, the aircraft hit a mountain slope in the Krkonoše Mountain range (Giants Mountains), at the border between Poland and Czech Republic. All six occupants were killed.

Naval Aircraft Factory PBN-1 Nomad

The crew was returning from Naryan Mar to Lakhta AFB following a maritime patrol flight in the Novaya Zemlya region. En route, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and the visibility was reduced due to fog. The pilot decided to gain height when the seaplane hit the top of a hill and crashed in flames some 2 km southeast of Lodka hill. While six crew members were killed instantly, the mechanic was slightly injured and walked for 12 days prior to find help in the small village of Kotkino. The crew was from the 44th Aviation Regiment of the White Sea Flotilla.

Lisunov LI-2

En route, the crew encountered problems with the right engine that failed. The Captain reduced his altitude in an attempt to make an emergency landing 30 km southeast of Maksatikha. While the manoeuvre was successfully completed and no one was injured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Lisunov LI-2

Just after rotation from Molotov Airport, the aircraft stalled and crashed. It veered off runway, hit a parked Lisunov LI-2 registered CCCP-L3962 and came to rest in a wooded hangar. All three crew members were killed while all seven passengers were seriously injured.

Lisunov LI-2

Built last December 2, the aircraft was on its way from the Tashkent construction plant to Aktyubinsk via Shalkar to be delivered to the Soviet Air Force. While cruising vertical to the Mugodzhar mountain range, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low clouds and icing. The aircraft lost height and crashed on the south slope of the Mt Menshy Brat (590 meters high). The wreckage was found two days later at an altitude of 520 meters and all eight occupants have been killed.