Leningrad – Moscow

On April 23, 1973 at 03:06 PM, Leningrad – Moscow experienced a crash involving Tupolev TU-104, operated by Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines, with the event recorded near Leningrad-Shosseynaya Leningrad oblast.

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

57 people were known to be on board, 2 fatalities were recorded, 55 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 3.5%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 51, passenger fatalities: 1, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is terrorism act, hijacking, sabotage. After takeoff from Leningrad-Shosseinaya Airport, while cruising at an altitude of 7,800 meters, a stewardess informed the cockpit crew about a passenger who wanted to fly to Stockholm and was carrying a pistol and a hand grenade. After entering the cockpit, the hijacker stand by the flight engineer. The crew returned to Leningrad-Shosseinaya and on final approach, while at a height of 120-140 meters, the captain asked the copilot to lower the gear. When the hijacker realized they were flying back to Leningrad, he unpin the grenade that exploded in the cockpit, causing a huge hole in the fuselage. The hijacker and the flight engineer were killed while both pilots were slightly injured. 30 seconds later, the pilots were able to land the airplane at a speed of 310 km/h. After touchdown, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane slid for several dozen meters before coming to a halt. All 55 other occupants were uninjured while the aircraft was not repaired.

Aircraft reference details include registration CCCP-42505, MSN 0 2 19 03, year of manufacture 1960.