Vilnius – Riga – Saint-Petersburg

On December 17, 1959 at 09:54 AM, Vilnius – Riga – Saint-Petersburg experienced a crash involving Lisunov LI-2, operated by Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines, with the event recorded near Vilnius Apskritis of Vilnius.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

9 people were known to be on board, 1 fatalities were recorded, 8 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 11.1%.

Crew on board: 5, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 4, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. Rotation from Vilnius Airport was completed at a speed of 115 km/h. After liftoff, the airplane encountered difficulties to gain height due to a high angle of attack. In stall conditions, the aircraft lost height, causing the left wing to struck the ground. Out of control, the airplane struck a ditch and two poles before coming to rest in flames 1,400 meters past the departure point. A crew member was killed while four other crews were seriously injured. All four passengers were unhurt and the aircraft was destroyed by fire.

Aircraft reference details include registration CCCP-84587, MSN 184 315 07, year of manufacture 0.