Antonov An-2SX – RA-33462

Incident Overview

Date: Thursday 30 June 2016

Aircraft Type: Antonov An-2SX

Owner/operator: Krasnokutske Flight School of Civil Aviation

Registration Number: RA-33462

Location: 2 km from Novopokrovskoye, Balashov district – ÿ Russia

Phase of Flight: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)

Status: Destroyed, written off

Casualties: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2

Component Affected: Aircraft Control Systems (Turn Handling, Altitude Limits)Aircraft Control Systems (Turn Handling, Altitude Limits)

Investigating Agency: MAKMAK

Category: Accident

On June 29, 2016, an Antonov 2 biplane aircraft, registration RA-33462, crashed during a flight on an agricultural operation near Novopokrovskoye, Russia. Both occupants, the captain, co-pilot, and technician, were killed. The aircraft was contracted to carry out agricultural operations, and the pilot began the flight alone, violating established procedures. Witnesses observed that both the pilot and a former AN-2 pilot were consuming alcoholic beverages during flights, which contributed to a potential lapse in judgment and control. The aircraft impacted terrain during a turn, resulting in a fire that consumed the aircraft. The flight exceeded altitude limits and was executed at a bank angle of approximately 40 degrees, exceeding the permitted limit of 30 degrees. The incident is attributed to a combination of factors including the pilot’s lack of agricultural flight training, the co-pilot’s unauthorized flight, the presence of alcohol, and a potential transfer of control to the passenger, a former pilot.On June 29, 2016, an Antonov 2 biplane aircraft, registration RA-33462, crashed during a flight on an agricultural operation near Novopokrovskoye, Russia. Both occupants, the captain, co-pilot, and technician, were killed. The aircraft was contracted to carry out agricultural operations, and the pilot began the flight alone, violating established procedures. Witnesses observed that both the pilot and a former AN-2 pilot were consuming alcoholic beverages during flights, which contributed to a potential lapse in judgment and control. The aircraft impacted terrain during a turn, resulting in a fire that consumed the aircraft. The flight exceeded altitude limits and was executed at a bank angle of approximately 40 degrees, exceeding the permitted limit of 30 degrees. The incident is attributed to a combination of factors including the pilot’s lack of agricultural flight training, the co-pilot’s unauthorized flight, the presence of alcohol, and a potential transfer of control to the passenger, a former pilot.

Description

The Antonov 2 biplane was destroyed when it impacted terrain near Novopokrovskoye, Russia during an aerial application flight. Both occupants were killed. The aircraft was contracted to carry out agricultural operations starting at the end of April 2016. A captain, co-pilot and technician were assigned to the aircaft. On June 20, 2016 the co-pilot left the crew without explanation of the reasons. This posed a problem for the captain, as agricultural flights may only be carried by two pilots. In violation of this, the captain started carrying out flights on his own. On June 29, an acquaintance of the pilot and a former AN-2 pilot, flew along. On June 29 and June 30 eyewitnesses noticed that both men were consuming alcoholic beverages between flights. The accident happened on the fifth flight of the day. The aircraft impacted terrain during a turn. A fire developed, which consumed the aircraft. It was established that turns were executed at bank angles of about 40ø, which exceeded the allowed 30ø. Furthermore, the flight was executed at altitudes of 20-40 m where the limit was 50 m. The accident of the AN-2SX RA-33462 occured when operating on an agricultural flight, is most likely due to an error in piloting technique, expressed in an unintentional descent when performing a turn, resulting in the collision of the aircraft with the ground surface in a controlled flight. Contributing factors: – PIC’s lack of flight training on agricultural flights without a co-pilot; – performing a flight by the PIC with passenger as a co-pilot; – the presence of alcohol in the body of the PIC and the passenger; – the possible transfer of control of the aircraft to the passenger, a former pilot of the An-2; – violation of the An-2 Airplane Flight Manual and FAP-128 height-keeping, roll on turns and speed when performing agricultural flights; – the lack of controls on the part of the administrative board of Krasnokutske Flight School of Civil Aviation of flight operations on agricultural flights on operational points.

Primary Cause

Pilot error and inadequate training on agricultural flight operations, specifically involving a turn and exceeding altitude limits.Pilot error and inadequate training on agricultural flight operations, specifically involving a turn and exceeding altitude limits.

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