Aeroflot Flight 1491
Aeroflot (Ukrainian UGA, Kharkiv JSC) Antonov An-10A · Structural failure, mid-air breakup
From Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) to Kharkiv International Airport (HRK)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 122 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 122
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
Antonov An-10A
- Aircraft type
- Antonov AN-10
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- CCCP-11215
- Onboard fatalities
- 122
- Route
- From Vnukovo International Airport (VKO)To Kharkiv International Airport (HRK)
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft structures
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
Aeroflot Flight 1491 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Moscow-Vnukovo Airport to Kharkiv Airport in the USSR that crashed on 18 May 1972 while descending to land in Kharkiv, killing all 122 passengers and crew aboard the Antonov An-10.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
During the commission's work to investigate the cause of the crash, it was established that the cause was the failure of the wing center section in mid-air due to a failure in the lower panel of the center section, caused by fatigue cracks in the stringers and skin.
According to the commission's conclusion, the emergency situation on board arose a minute before the aircraft broke up. The crack, which began in the fatigue zone between the 6th and 7th stringers of the lower panel of the center section, grew in both directions and moved towards the spars. At that moment, the zero rib, which connected the stringers to the riveted panel, failed. As a result, both wings folded upward.
From the conclusion:
Text from the Wikipedia article “Aeroflot Flight 1491” (revision 1364828189, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: Aeroflot Flight 1491
- Article
- Aeroflot Flight 1491
- Revision
- 1364828189 · 2026-07-18 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q2254625
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "Aeroflot Flight 1491" (page 36854153, revision 1364828189)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- flight number in the article title
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.