Aeroflot Flight 4225

Aeroflot Flight 4225 was a Tupolev Tu-154B-2 on a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Alma-Ata Airport (now Almaty) to Simferopol Airport on 8 July 1980. The aircraft had reached an altitude of no more than 500 feet when the airspeed suddenly dropped because of thermal currents it encountered during the climb out. This caused the airplane to stall less than 5 kilometres (3.1 mi; 2.7 nmi) from the airport, crash and catch fire, killing all 156 passengers and 10 crew on board.[1] To date, it remains the deadliest aviation accident in Kazakhstan.[1]

Aeroflot Flight 4225
An Aeroflot Tu-154B-2, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date8 July 1980 (1980-07-08)
SummaryMicroburst-induced windshear, loss of airspeed due to thermal currents causing a stall
SiteNear Almaty International Airport, Almaty, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
43°19′42″N 76°59′19″E
Aircraft
Aircraft typeTupolev Tu-154B-2
OperatorAeroflot
RegistrationCCCP-85355
Flight originAlmaty International Airport
DestinationSimferopol Airport
Occupants166
Passengers156
Crew10
Fatalities166
Survivors0

Accident

At the time of the accident, Alma-Ata was experiencing a heat wave. It was around 00:39 and Flight 4225 took off from Alma-Ata Airport in Soviet Kazakhstan.[1] Only a few seconds after take off, the flight reached 500 feet (150 m). The weather was not on the flight's side; the plane reached a zone of hot air and then the Soviet aircraft's airspeed dramatically dropped and the plane was caught in a big downdraft. The Tupolev stalled and plummeted, nose down, into a farm near the suburbs of Alma-Ata. It slid into a ravine, caught fire and disintegrated, killing everyone on board.[2][3]

Investigation

The Soviet aviation board concluded that the crash was caused by windshear which took place while the aircraft was near its maximum takeoff weight for the local conditions which included mountains.[2][4]

See also

References
  1. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev 154B-2 CCCP-85355 Alma-Ata Airport (ALA)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  2. "Катастрофа Ту-154Б-2 Алма-Атинского ОАО в районе а/п Алма-Ата" [Accident of Tu-154B-2 of Alma-Ata OJSC in the area of Alma-Ata airport]. www.airdisaster.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-04-12.
  3. "Туполев Ту-154Б-2 Бортовой №: СССР-85355" [Tupolev Tu-154B-2 Board number: USSR-85355]. russianplanes.net (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-04-12.
  4. Gero, David (1996). Aviation Disasters Second Edition. Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 164.
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