Incident Overview
Date: Thursday 6 February 1986
Aircraft Type: Antonov An-26B
Owner/operator: Aeroflot / Belarus
Registration Number: CCCP-26095
Location: 2 km SE of Saransk Airport (SKX) –
ÿ Russia
Phase of Flight: Initial climb
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6
Component Affected: Aircraft control systems (lights, radar)Aircraft control systems (lights, radar)
Category: Accident

A night takeoff from Saransk resulted in a collision with the ground due to a misidentification of anti-collision lights by the pilot, leading to evasive maneuvers and loss of altitude.A night takeoff from Saransk resulted in a collision with the ground due to a misidentification of anti-collision lights by the pilot, leading to evasive maneuvers and loss of altitude.
Description
During a night takeoff from Saransk the captain mistook red lights on the localizer and inner marker beacon for the anti-collision lights of an oncoming aircraft and took violent evasive action. The aircraft lost altitude and collided with the ground, breaking up on impact. The aircraft operated on a flight from Nizhnevartovsk to Sverdlovsk, Saransk and Gomel.
Source of Information
http://airdisaster.ru/database.php?id=360, https://www.airhistory.net/info/soviet.phphttp://airdisaster.ru/database.php?id=360, https://www.airhistory.net/info/soviet.phpPrimary Cause
Pilot error ? misidentification of anti-collision lights.Pilot error ? misidentification of anti-collision lights.Share on: