Leningrad - Murmansk

On January 29, 1970 at 07:27 PM, Leningrad - Murmansk experienced a crash involving Tupolev TU-124, operated by Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines, with the event recorded near Kilpyavr AFB Murmansk oblast.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a mountains crash site.

38 people were known to be on board, 11 fatalities were recorded, 27 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 28.9%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 32, passenger fatalities: 8, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. Following an uneventful flight by night at an assigned altitude of 8,400 meters, the crew was cleared to descent to 2,400 bound for Kilpyavr AFB near Murmansk. While in a 3° nose-down attitude, the airplane struck the snow covered slope of a hill (240 meters high), slid for 624 meters then lost its both engines and wings and came to a halt, broken in two. The wreckage was found 29,5 km from the airport and 8 km to the right of the extended centerline. Eight passengers and three crew members (the captain, the navigator and the flight engineer) were killed while 27 other occupants were injured.

Aircraft reference details include registration CCCP-45083, MSN 5 35 17 06, year of manufacture 1965.