Aeroflot Flight 773

The aircraft involved was a Tupolev Tu-104B registered as СССР-42390 to the Ukraine Civil Aviation Directorate of Aeroflot. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had endured 13,062 flight hours and 10,452 pressurization cycles.[1]

Seven crew members were aboard the flight. The cockpit crew consisted of:[2]

• Captain Konstantin Romanovich Klyushnik
• Co-pilot Anatoly Yefimovich Vorobevsky
• Navigator Vladimir Alekseevich Solodyannikov
• Flight engineer Valentin Alekseevich Bezrodny
• Radio operator Viktor Ivanovich Obedkov

The two flight attendants consisted of Svetlana Vladimirovna Papushina and Boris Nesterovich Marchenko.

A policeman was also on board, but was counted as a passenger in the report.

The aircraft arrived at Moscow from Simferopol at 19:02, after which the aircraft was prepared for the return trip to Simferopol. Weather conditions at the time were overcast with low clouds and a visibility of 6 kilometers. Flight 773 took off from Vnukovo Airport at 20:16. Thirty-one seconds later the crew contacted air traffic control and reported that they were heading for Chornaya Gryaz. The controller ordered the aircraft to climb to 1,500 m (4,900 ft). The controller contacted Flight 773 asking them if they had passed through 1,200 m (3,900 ft), but the crew did not respond. The controller repeatedly attempted to contact the crew, but there was no response.

Just seconds after the crew reported to the controller about the takeoff, an explosion ripped through the aircraft. The left side of the fuselage was torn open and the left wing was severely damaged. The aircraft began rolling to the right with a loss of altitude. At 150–200 m (490–660 ft) the aircraft broke up and some passenger seats fell out. The aircraft crashed in a nose-down attitude in a 90 degree right bank near the village of Baranovo, Naro-Fominsky District, some 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Vnukovo Airport. All 25 people on board died, including film actress Raisa Zverev.

An investigation showed that debris that fell from the aircraft before the crash showed signs of fire damage. Fragments of TNT were also found. It was concluded that the explosion was the result of a bomb that was located in the luggage compartment; however, it was later revealed that a bomb of 400–800 grams of TNT was placed on the cabin floor, between the cabin wall and a seat at frame 43. The investigation finished in 1973 without finding the suspect who placed the bomb.

• Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network