Tashkent - Nukus - Mineralnye Vody

On February 15, 1977 at 11:17 PM, Tashkent - Nukus - Mineralnye Vody experienced a crash involving Ilyushin II-18, operated by Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines, with the event recorded near Mineralnye Vody Stavropol Krai.

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.

98 people were known to be on board, 77 fatalities were recorded, 21 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 78.6%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 92, passenger fatalities: 76, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. On final approach to Mineralnye Vody Airport by night, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. At a speed of 290 km/h, flaps were deployed at an angle of 30°, causing the airspeed to drop to 260 km/h. At a distance of 1,500 metres from the runway threshold, the captain decided to initiate a go-around as he was unable to establish a visual contact with the runway. During initial climb, at an altitude of about 90 metres, the airplane entered a right turn then rolled to the right at an angle of 15-30° and adopted a critical angle of attack of 15-18°. The tail stall and the airplane crashed in flames 2 km south of the airport. A crew member and 76 passengers were killed while 21 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Aircraft reference details include registration CCCP-75520, MSN 183 0067 03, year of manufacture 1963.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 44.2107°, 43.1350°.