Tbilisi – Kharkiv – Moscow

On August 20, 1949 at 05:30 PM, Tbilisi – Kharkiv – Moscow experienced a crash involving Ilyushin II-12, operated by Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines, with the event recorded near Polukotelnikovo Kursk oblast.

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

11 people were known to be on board, 8 fatalities were recorded, 3 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 72.7%.

Crew on board: 5, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 6, passenger fatalities: 5, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is weather. The crew departed Kharkiv Airport in the afternoon bound to the north at an assigned altitude of 1,200 meters. While arriving in the region of Belgorod, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls and turbulences. The crew modified his route several times to avoid the cloud and the thunderstorm activity and the captain decided to reduce his altitude to 400 meters to fly below the cloud layer. After 45 minutes, the aircraft encountered heavy turbulences, went to a nose down attitude and eventually crashed at a speed of 360 km/h in a field. Three crew members and five passengers were killed while three other occupants were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Aircraft reference details include registration CCCP-L1434, MSN 30 266, year of manufacture 26.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 51.3031°, 36.3195°.