Aeroflot Flight 217

Aeroflot Flight 217 was a non-scheduled international passenger flight from Orly Airport in Paris to Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, with a stopover at Shosseynaya Airport (now Pulkovo Airport) in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). On 13 October 1972, the Ilyushin Il-62 airliner operating the flight crashed on approach to Sheremetyevo, with the loss of all 164 passengers and crew of 10. At the time, it was the world's deadliest civil aviation disaster, until it was surpassed by the Kano air disaster in 1973.[1] As of 2023, this remains the second-deadliest accident involving an Il-62, after LOT Flight 5055, and the second-deadliest on Russian soil, after Aeroflot Flight 3352.[2][3][4]

Aeroflot Flight 217
An Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62, similar to the crashed aircraft
Accident
Date13 October 1972 (1972-10-13)
SummaryUndetermined (possible crew incapacitation, lightning strike, or mechanical failure)
SiteNear Sheremetyevo International Airport, Lobnya, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
56°4′50″N 37°24′36″E
Aircraft
Aircraft typeIlyushin Il-62
OperatorAeroflot
RegistrationCCCP-86671
Flight originOrly Airport
StopoverShosseynaya Airport
DestinationSheremetyevo International Airport
Occupants174
Passengers164
Crew10
Fatalities174
Survivors0

Passengers
NationNumber
Algeria6
Australia1
Chile38
East Germany1
Soviet Union118[note 1]
Total174[5]

Crash

Shortly before the expected landing, the plane was flying at the altitude of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) and received the ATC instructions to descend to 400 metres (1,300 ft). The crew confirmed and started to descend, but later there was no action to return to the horizontal flight. The plane passed the 400-metre (1,300 ft) mark with 20 m/s (66 ft/s) vertical velocity, no expected report to ATC and engines still running at low thrust. It crashed shortly afterwards, with landing gear up, spoilers retracted and horizontal speed about 620 km/h (330 kn; 390 mph).[5]

Investigation

The cause of the crash could not be determined. Investigators did believe the most probable cause was the 'psycho-physiological incapacitation of the crew for reasons unknown'.[6] Somewhere around 500–600 metres (1,600–2,000 ft) altitude, 30–25 seconds before impact, the pilots either have been incapacitated or lost control of the plane.[5]

See also

Notes
  1. 108 passengers and 10 crew.

References
  1. Leddington, Roger (16 October 1972). "Death toll at 176 in Russian crash". Nashua Telegraph. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  2. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Ilyushin 62 CCCP-86671 Moskva-Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 8 April 2005. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  3. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Ilyushin 62M SP-LBG Warszawa-Okecie Airport (WAW)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 10 November 2005. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  4. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev 154B-1 CCCP-85243 Omsk Airport (OMS)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 22 March 2005. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  5. Катастрофа Ил-62 ЦУМВС в районе озера Нерское (борт СССР-86671), 13 октября 1972 [Accident of IL-62 TSUMVS near Lake Nerskoye (board USSR-86671), October 13, 1972]. airdisaster.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  6. Gero, David (1996). Aviation Disasters Second Edition. Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 110.
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