Krasnoyarsk - Norilsk

On November 16, 1981 at 05:37 PM, Krasnoyarsk - Norilsk experienced a crash involving Tupolev TU-154, operated by Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines, with the event recorded near Norilsk-Alykel Krasnoyarsk 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.

167 people were known to be on board, 99 fatalities were recorded, 68 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 59.3%.

Crew on board: 7, crew fatalities: 4, passengers on board: 160, passenger fatalities: 95, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. Following an uneventful flight from Krasnoyarsk, the crew started the descent to Norilsk-Alykel Airport. At an altitude of about 600 meters and a speed of 370 km/h, the undercarriage were lowered. At a distance of 19 km from the airport, at an altitude of 500 meters and a speed of 300 km/h, flaps were deployed to an angle of 28°. At this time, the crew calculated the landing speed at 265 km/h according to flight conditions and the total weight of the aircraft. Unfortunately, this calculation was wrong and the correct speed should be 270 km/h. On short final, the airplane descended below the glide and struck the ground at a speed of 261 km/h about 470 meters short of runway threshold. It slid for about 300 meters on an icy ground before coming to rest, bursting into flames. 68 occupants were injured while 99 others were killed, among them four crew members. The aircraft was destroyed.

Aircraft reference details include registration CCCP-85480, MSN 81A480, year of manufacture 1981.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 69.3760°, 87.4589°.