Irkutsk - Moscow

On January 3, 1994 at 12:07 PM, Irkutsk - Moscow experienced a crash involving Tupolev TU-154, operated by Baikal Airlines, with the event recorded near Irkutsk Irkutsk oblast.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

124 people were known to be on board, 125 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.8%.

Crew on board: 9, crew fatalities: 9, passengers on board: 115, passenger fatalities: 115, other fatalities: 1.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. While preparing the flight, the crew encountered technical problems with the engine n°2 and 17 minutes were necessary to start all three engines. A technical issue occurred with the starter of the engine n°2 and a warning light came on in the cockpit. The crew did not find any corrective actions in the operations manual and as he thought the warning was false, decided to take off. Four minutes after the aircraft departed Irkutsk Airport runway 12, while climbing, the starter located in the engine n°2 failed. Debris scattered around and hydraulic and fuel lines were cut. The crew declared an emergency and was cleared for an immediate return after the engine n°2 caught fire. Unfortunately, the crew was unable to extinguish the fire and the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and eventually crashed on farm buildings located about 11 km from the airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 124 occupants were killed as well as one farmer. Another farmer was seriously injured.

Aircraft reference details include registration RA-85656, MSN 89A801, year of manufacture 1989.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 52.2854°, 104.2781°.