Incident Overview

Date: Saturday 17 March 1979
Aircraft Type: Tupolev Tu-104B
Owner/operator: Aeroflot / Ukraine
Registration Number: CCCP-42444
Location: near Moskva-Vnukovo Airport (VKO) – ÿ Russia
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 58 / Occupants: 119
Component Affected: WingsWings
Category: Accident
A Tupolev 104B passenger jet experienced a catastrophic accident near Moscow-Vnukovo Airport, resulting in significant damage and loss of flight capability. The aircraft, registered CCCP-42444, had 113 passengers and six crew members on board. Following a false no. 1 engine fire warning, the crew initiated an immediate return to Moscow-Vnukovo, leading to a descent below the glide slope and subsequent crash onto a frozen ploughed field. The aircraft sustained significant damage, including loss of wings and the cockpit, with a takeoff weight exceeding allowable limits and a limited flying experience for the pilot-in-command.A Tupolev 104B passenger jet experienced a catastrophic accident near Moscow-Vnukovo Airport, resulting in significant damage and loss of flight capability. The aircraft, registered CCCP-42444, had 113 passengers and six crew members on board. Following a false no. 1 engine fire warning, the crew initiated an immediate return to Moscow-Vnukovo, leading to a descent below the glide slope and subsequent crash onto a frozen ploughed field. The aircraft sustained significant damage, including loss of wings and the cockpit, with a takeoff weight exceeding allowable limits and a limited flying experience for the pilot-in-command.

Description

A Tupolev 104B passenger jet, registered CCCP-42444, was damaged beyond repair in a CFIT accident near Moskva-Vnukovo Airport (VKO), Russia. There were 113 passengers and six crew members on board. The airplane operated on a flight from Vnukovo to Odessa-Central Airport (ODS) Shortly after takeoff at 19:30 a (false) no. 1 engine fire warning forced the crew to return to Moscow-Vnukovo. In poor visibility conditions the plane descended below the glide slope. The wing struck a pylon of a power line, contacted the top of a small hill and got airborne again. At a height of 5-10 m the Tu-104 crossed the Moscow-Kiev highway and crashed onto a frozen ploughed field. Having lost wings and the cockpit, the fuselage slid on the ground and stopped 200 m from the highway and 1920 m from the place of initial ground contact. The takeoff weight exceeded allowable on 10,7 tones and the flying experience of the pilot-in-command on Tu-104 planes was just 32 hours.

Source of Information

http://airdisaster.ru/database.php?id=61, https://www.airhistory.net/info/soviet.phphttp://airdisaster.ru/database.php?id=61, https://www.airhistory.net/info/soviet.php

Primary Cause

False no. 1 engine fire warning triggered immediate return to Moscow-Vnukovo.False no. 1 engine fire warning triggered immediate return to Moscow-Vnukovo.

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