Incident Overview
Date: Tuesday 8 July 1980
Aircraft Type: Tupolev Tu-154B-2
Owner/operator: Aeroflot, Kazakstan Civil Aviation Directorate
Registration Number: CCCP-85355
Location: 5 km from Alma-Ata Airport (ALA) –
ÿ Kazakhstan
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 166 / Occupants: 166
Component Affected: Aircraft structure (specifically the fuselage and wings)Aircraft structure (specifically the fuselage and wings)
Category: Accident
A Tu-154 experienced a sudden and severe descent due to wind and a downdraft, resulting in a crash on a wheat field near Alma-Ata. The aircraft disintegrated and slid through a field, ultimately impacting a ravine.A Tu-154 experienced a sudden and severe descent due to wind and a downdraft, resulting in a crash on a wheat field near Alma-Ata. The aircraft disintegrated and slid through a field, ultimately impacting a ravine.
Description
Two minutes after takeoff from Alma-Ata, at a height of 120-150 m, the plane entered a zone of high air temperature (30-40 deg C) where the airspeed dropped because of the wind. Then the plane was caught in a downdraft and stalled. It descended nose down until it struck a farm and crashed on a wheat field near the suburbs of Alma-Ata. The Tu-154 disintegrated and caught fire, slid through a field and fell into a ravine. The airplane operated on a flight to Rostov Airport (ROV) and Simferopol Airport (SIP).
Source of Information
http://airdisaster.ru/database.php?id=34, https://www.airhistory.net/info/soviet.phphttp://airdisaster.ru/database.php?id=34, https://www.airhistory.net/info/soviet.phpPrimary Cause
Wind and downdraft conditions combined with a sudden loss of airspeed.Wind and downdraft conditions combined with a sudden loss of airspeed.Share on:
