Moscow – Fairbanks – Chicago – New York

On August 12, 1937 at 12:00 AM, Moscow – Fairbanks – Chicago – New York experienced a crash involving Bolkhovitinov DB-A, operated by Polyarnaya Aviatsiya, with the event recorded near Russia All Russia.

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

6 people were known to be on board, 6 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

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

The listed crash cause is human factor. The crew was performing a transpolar flight from Moscow to New York with intermediate stops in Fairbanks and Chicago. While flying probably over the north part of Siberia, maybe over the Arctic Ocean, the aircraft disappeared as all radio communications ceased. Important SAR operations were conducted but all search were eventually suspended as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found. Among the six aviators was the famous Soviet aviation pioneer Sigismond Levanevsky. Crew: Sigismond Levanevsky, captain, Nikolai Kastanayev, second pilot, Nikolai Galkovsky, radio operator, Grigory Pobezhimov, flight engineer, Nikolai Godovikov, flight engineer, Viktor Levchenko, navigator.

Aircraft reference details include registration CCCP-N209.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 55.8339°, 37.6218°.