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Aeroflot Flight 2022

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Tupolev Tu-124 crash in 1973
Aeroflot Flight 2022
An Aeroflot Tu-124V, similar to the one involved in the accident
Accident
Date16 December 1973
SummaryFailure of the horizontal stabilizer resulting in a loss of control
SiteNear Karacharovo, Russian SSR
55°44′26″N 35°47′15″E / 55.74056°N 35.78750°E / 55.74056; 35.78750
Aircraft
Aircraft typeTupolev Tu-124V
OperatorAeroflot
RegistrationСССР-45061
Flight originVilnius Airport (VNO/EYVI), Lithuanian SSR
DestinationMoscow-Vnukovo Airport (VKO/UUWW), Russian SSR
Occupants51
Passengers45
Crew6
Fatalities51
Survivors0

Aeroflot Flight 2022 was a scheduled Soviet domestic passenger flight between Vilnius Airport in Lithuanian SSR and Moscow–Vnukovo Airport in Russian SFSR, that crashed on 16 December 1973, killing all 51 people on board. The flight suffered a loss of control as a result of a malfunction of its elevator, causing it to crash as it made its final descent into Moscow. At the time of the crash, it was the worst accident in aviation history involving a Tupolev Tu-124 since it entered service with Aeroflot in 1962.

Aircraft

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The aircraft involved in the accident was a Tupolev Tu-124V, registered СССР-45061, to Aeroflot. The Tu-124V was a variant of the original Tu-124 which had been introduced in 1962. The 'V' variant of the Tu-124 modified the aircraft to be able to seat 56 passengers, instead of the original 44, and also had increased range and payload capacity. СССР-45061 was equipped with two Soloviev D-20P turbofan engines and had first flown in 1964. It was assigned to Aeroflot's Lithuania division. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had sustained 14,903 flight hours and 13,832 pressurization cycles.

Crew and passengers

Six crew members were aboard Aeroflot Flight 2022. The flight crew consisted of:

The crew also included a junior police lieutenant as a sky marshal (they were added after the hijacking of Aeroflot Flight 244 in 1970).

All of the passengers were Soviet citizens, with the exception of one who was a West German citizen. The majority of the passengers were Lithuanians. They included four noted Lithuanian pediatricians, including Petras Baublys [lt], who traveled to a medical conference in Kharkiv. The bodies of the victims were cremated in Moscow on 21 December. The four doctors were buried in a public ceremony attended by Lithuanian First Secretary Antanas Sniečkus in Antakalnis Cemetery.

Accident

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At 18:10 MSK on 16 December 1973, СССР-45061 took off from Vilnius Airport in Lithuania SSR and proceeded east on a flight to Moscow-Vnukovo Airport in Russia with six crew and 45 passengers on board. Flight 2022 climbed to a cruising altitude of 7,800 meters (25,600 feet) and at 19:03 MSK air traffic controllers in Moscow gave the pilots clearance to begin a descent to 5,700 meters (18,700 feet). At 19:11 MSK, the pilots reported the aircraft had entered a steep dive and were having difficulties recovering. Just 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) above the ground, the pilots were able to briefly stabilize the aircraft; however, it then entered a stall, followed by a spin. At 19:13 MSK, the aircraft crashed into the ground near the village of Karacharovo, northwest of Moscow. All 51 people aboard the aircraft were killed. At the time of the crash, the visibility was reported to be 2-4 kilometers with haze and cloudy skies.

Cause

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An investigation ruled out engine problems or weather having playing a part in the crash. In addition, there were no physical jams in the aircraft's rudder, aileron, and wing trim tab components. Investigators determined that a spontaneous short circuit had caused the elevator trim tab to deflect to and maintain an upward position. As a result, the pilots lost horizontal control and entered into an irrecoverable dive.

See also

Portals:

References

  1. Dargis, Dailius (19 April 2010). "Gydytojų tragedijos žaizdų neužgydė dešimtmečiai" [The wounds of the doctors' tragedy did not heal for decades] (in Lithuanian). TV3.lt. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  2. Srėbalienė, Audrė (16–22 September 2002). "Šiemet - katastrofų vasara" [This year is the summer of disasters]. Ekstra (in Lithuanian). 36 (198). Archived from the original on 9 March 2013.
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Aviation accidents and incidents in 1973 (1973)
Jan 21 Aeroflot Flight 6263Jan 22 Kano Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 crashJan 29 EgyptAir Flight 741Feb 19 Aeroflot Flight 141Feb 21 Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114Feb 24 Aeroflot Flight 630Feb 26 DeKalb–Peachtree Airport Learjet 24 crashFeb 28 Aeroflot Flight X-167Mar 3 Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 307Mar 5 Nantes mid-air collisionApr 10 Invicta International Airlines Flight 435Apr 23 Aeroflot Flight 2420May 11 Aeroflot Flight 6551May 18 Aeroflot Flight 109May 30 SAM Colombia Flight 601May 31 Indian Airlines Flight 440Jun 3 Paris Air Show Tu-144 crashJun 10 Nepal plane hijackingJun 20 Aeroméxico Flight 229Jul 11 Varig Flight 820Jul 22 Pan Am Flight 816Jul 23 Japan Air Lines Flight 404Jul 23 Ozark Air Lines Flight 809Jul 31 Delta Air Lines Flight 723Aug 13 Aviaco Flight 118Aug 18 Aeroflot Flight A-13Aug 27 Aerocondor Lockheed L-188 Electra crashAug 28 TWA Flight 742Sep 8 World Airways Flight 802Sep 11 JAT Flight 769Sep 27 Texas International Airlines Flight 655Sep 30 Aeroflot Flight 3932Oct 13 Aeroflot Flight 964Nov 2 Aeroflot Flight 19Nov 3 Pan Am Flight 160Nov 3 National Airlines Flight 27Nov 21 US Navy C-117D Sólheimasandur CrashNov 23 Italian Air Force C-47 Argo 16 crashNov 25 KLM Flight 861Dec 16 Aeroflot Flight 2022Dec 17 Iberia Flight 933Dec 17 Pan Am Fl. 110, Lufthansa Fl. 303 hijackingDec 22 Royal Air Maroc Caravelle crash
1972   ◄    ►   1974
Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union in the 1970s
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
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1979
1960–1969 ◄ 1970–1979 ► 1980–1991
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