On 7 February 1981, aTupolev Tu-104Apassenger jet crashed during take off fromPushkin AirportnearLeningrad,Soviet Union, resulting in the death of all 50 people on board, including 28 high-ranking Soviet military personnel. The official investigation concluded that the aircraft was improperly loaded.
 A Tu-104 similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 7 February 1981 |
| Summary | Improper cargo loading |
| Site | 20 meters southwest of the runway at Pushkin Airport 59°40′29.1″N30°19′26.5″E/ 59.674750°N 30.324028°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Tupolev Tu-104A |
| Operator | Pacific Fleetof theSoviet Navy |
| Registration | СССР-42332 |
| Flight origin | Pushkin Airport |
| Stopover | Khabarovsk Novy Airport |
| Destination | Vladivostok Int'l Airport (1981: Knevichi Airport) |
| Occupants | 50 |
| Passengers | 44 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 50 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Accident
editAt 18:00 local time, the Tu-104A lined up on runway 21 and commenced its take-off run during snowing weather conditions. Afterrotation,the aircraftpitchedup beyond normal take-offattitude,and eight seconds after lift off, at analtitudeabove ground level of 50 m (160 ft), the Tupolevstalledand entered a right bank. The aircraft continued to roll right until it struck the ground 20 m (66 ft) from the departure end of the runway, crashing nearly inverted and bursting into flames, killing 49 of the 50 people on board. One person in the cockpit was ejected from thenoseof the aircraft, and was found alive in the snow not far from the crash site, but died on the way to a hospital.[1][2][3][4]
Aircraft
editThe Tupolev Tu-104A involved was serial number 76600402 and registered as СССР-42332 to the Soviet Navy. The construction of the airliner was completed on 26 November 1957.[1]
Investigation
editThe investigation of the accident revealed that the crew allowed the aircraft to be improperly loaded. Evidence was uncovered that led investigators to believe that some military officers did not comply with seating assignments given by the crew and that these officers pressured the crew to make the flight in an unsafely loaded aircraft. Another factor reported by witnesses was that large rolls of printing paper were loaded on board, and these are believed to have rolled rearward during acceleration on take-off, causing thecenter of gravityto shift aft of acceptable limits, thereby reducing the stability of the aircraft in pitch, making lowering the nose impossible for the crew, and the crash inevitable.[1][2][3][4]
Casualties
edit
The Tupolev Tu-104A was carrying many of thePacific Fleet'ssenior officers from Leningrad, where they had been attending meetings with the naval command, toVladivostok,viaKhabarovsk.Among the dead were 16 admirals and generals, including the commander of the Pacific Fleet, AdmiralEmil Spiridonov,and his wife. They were both interred with most of the other victims of the crash in theSerafimovskoe Cemeteryin Leningrad, where a memorial to the dead was erected on the orders of the Navy's commander-in-chief,Sergey Gorshkov.[5]A memorial service is held annually on 7 February at theSt. Nicholas Naval Cathedralin St Petersburg, and on the 20th anniversary of the crash, the line: "Those who died in the line of duty on 7 February 1981", and anOrthodox crosswere added to the memorialstelecommemorating the Pacific Navy sailors.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abc"Tupolev Tu-104A Board number: USSR-42332".russianplanes.net(in Russian). 2011-02-01.Retrieved2018-07-15.
- ^ab"Crash of a Tupolev TU-104A in Pushkin: 50 killed".baaa-acro.com.Retrieved2023-03-19.
- ^ab"Accident description 7 February 1981".aviation-safety.net.Retrieved2018-07-07.
- ^ab"Even the admiral will not abolish the laws of aerodynamics".nvo.ng.ru(in Russian). 2008-11-04.Retrieved2018-07-15.
- ^abKoshelev, S."ЧЕРНЫЙ ФЕВРАЛЬ"[BLACK FEBRUARY] (in Russian). Morskaya Gazeta.Retrieved8 April2019.