Incident Overview

Date: Wednesday 21 December 1955
Aircraft Type: Lisunov Li-2
Owner/operator: Aeroflot, Kazakstan Civil Aviation Directorate
Registration Number: CCCP-L4981
Location: near Balkhash Lake – ÿ Kazakhstan
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
Component Affected: Vacuum regulatorVacuum regulator
Category: Accident
A commercial aircraft experienced a catastrophic failure of its vacuum regulator, leading to the loss of gyroscopes and auto-pilot, resulting in a fatal crash in the snow-covered Saryesik-Atyrau desert.A commercial aircraft experienced a catastrophic failure of its vacuum regulator, leading to the loss of gyroscopes and auto-pilot, resulting in a fatal crash in the snow-covered Saryesik-Atyrau desert.

Description

While en route from Alma-Ata (now Almaty) the vacuum regulator failed, resulting in failure of the gyroscopes and the auto-pilot. As the aircraft was flying in clouds the crew probably suffered from spatial disorientation and the aircraft crashed in the snow-covered Saryesik-Atyrau desert 105 km south-east of lake Balkhash. All 5 crew and the sole passenger were killed.

Primary Cause

Vacuum regulator failureVacuum regulator failure

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