Minsk - Prague - Berlin

On December 12, 1986 at 06:00 PM, Minsk - Prague - Berlin experienced a crash involving Tupolev TU-134, operated by Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines, with the event recorded near Berlin-Schönefeld Berlin.

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.

82 people were known to be on board, 72 fatalities were recorded, 10 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 87.8%.

Crew on board: 9, crew fatalities: 9, passengers on board: 73, passenger fatalities: 63, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. Originally, flight SU892 was a direct service from Minsk to Berlin but due to poor weather at Berlin, the flight was diverted to the alternate Airport of Prague-Ruzyne. Following an uneventful flight from Prague, the crew started the descent to Berlin-Schönefeld Airport. At that time, weather conditions were marginal with limited visibility to 900 meters and a ceiling down to 60 meters. After the crew was cleared for an ILS approach to runway 25L, ATC turned on the runway 25R lighting system while informing all crews that runway 25R was closed to traffic due to work in progress. These transmissions being done in english, a misinterpretation of the situation conducted the crew to continue the approach to runway 25R. On short final, ATC realized the wrong position of the aircraft and instructed the crew to make a left turn to reach the runway 25L approach path. With flaps down at 38° and at a speed of 263 km/h, the captain initiated a left turn and descended below the glide. With a rate of descent of 7 meters per second, the aircraft struck tree tops then stalled and crashed in a wooded area located 3 km short of runway threshold, bursting into flames. Twelve passengers were seriously injured while 70 other people were killed. Two weeks later, two of the survivors died from their injuries.

Aircraft reference details include registration CCCP-65795, MSN 63145, year of manufacture 1980.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 52.3909°, 13.5130°.