Incident Overview

Date: Tuesday 27 March 1990
Aircraft Type: Ilyushin Il-76MD
Owner/operator: Uzbek Civil Aviation Adminstration, lsf Soviet Air Force
Registration Number: CCCP-78781
Location: 7,6 km E of Kabul Airport (KBL) – ÿ Afghanistan
Phase of Flight: Approach
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9
Component Affected: Aircraft ? Ilyushin Il-76MD transport plane, An-32 aircraft.Aircraft ? Ilyushin Il-76MD transport plane, An-32 aircraft.
Category: Accident
On October 26, 2023, an Ilyushin Il-76MD transport plane experienced a significant incident during a cargo flight to Kabul, Afghanistan. The aircraft encountered a delay due to a stopover at Kokand, Uzbekistan, and subsequently descended to FL270. During the descent, the pilot initiated a controlled descent to FL230, but a crossing by an An-32 aircraft at FL180 caused a delay and subsequent leveling off at FL190. The aircraft subsequently landed inverted, resulting in a stall. The stall was triggered by a combination of factors including insufficient pilot control, inadequate training, and a failure to recognize critical angle of attack. The incident highlights a potential risk associated with maneuvering in combat conditions and the limitations of pilot training in specialized flight scenarios.On October 26, 2023, an Ilyushin Il-76MD transport plane experienced a significant incident during a cargo flight to Kabul, Afghanistan. The aircraft encountered a delay due to a stopover at Kokand, Uzbekistan, and subsequently descended to FL270. During the descent, the pilot initiated a controlled descent to FL230, but a crossing by an An-32 aircraft at FL180 caused a delay and subsequent leveling off at FL190. The aircraft subsequently landed inverted, resulting in a stall. The stall was triggered by a combination of factors including insufficient pilot control, inadequate training, and a failure to recognize critical angle of attack. The incident highlights a potential risk associated with maneuvering in combat conditions and the limitations of pilot training in specialized flight scenarios.

Description

The Ilyushin Il-76MD transport plane operated on a cargo flight to deliver goods from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to Kabul, Afghanistan. An en route stop was made at Kokand, Uzbekistan. The flight departed at 10:36 hours and climbed to the en route altitude of FL270. At 11:20 hours the aircraft was cleared to descend FL250 and subsequently to FL230. During the descent the flaps were set at 30ø and the spoilers at 20ø. The aircraft was then cleared to descend to FL190, after which the controller instructed the flight to maintain that altitude as an Afghanistan Air Force Antonov An-32 was crossing at FL180. This delayed the descent and the flight leveled off at FL190. Subsequently the flight was cleared down to FL140 and to position for the final approach. At 11:30 the aircraft stalled and rolled left, entering a steep descending spiral. It struck the ground inverted. The stall of an airplane during maneuvering occurred as a result of a combination of the following factors: – crew failure to maintain flight speed modes recommended by IL-76 for various airplane configurations, which reduced the available margin of angle of attack to critical modes; – insufficient control of crew members over the determining flight parameters, which led to a violation of the established restrictions on the permissible angle of attack and the minimum flight speed; – the lack of piloting skills at high angles of attack, due to the imperfection of the training system for crews in special flight situations; – the pilots were unable to recognize the exit to critical angles of attack and implement the IL-76 recommendations to prevent stall; – the need for maneuvering according to the descent scheme in combat conditions at close to flight restriction conditions and the presence of three aircraft flying in clouds at short intervals without appropriate radar control created a difficult situation for the crew, which was aggravated after the controller informed about the need to temporarily stop the descent in connection with the take-off of the An-32 aircraft, which led to a change in the prevailing stereotype of crew actions.

Source of Information

https://www.airhistory.net/info/soviet.phphttps://www.airhistory.net/info/soviet.php

Primary Cause

Insufficient pilot control and inadequate training regarding critical angle of attack and flight parameters during maneuvering, exacerbated by the presence of an An-32 aircraft and challenging weather conditions.Insufficient pilot control and inadequate training regarding critical angle of attack and flight parameters during maneuvering, exacerbated by the presence of an An-32 aircraft and challenging weather conditions.

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