Aeroflot Flight 964
Tupolev Tu-104 · Spatial disorientation after electrical failure
From David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport (KUT) to Domodedovo International Airport (DME)
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
Tupolev Tu-104
- Aircraft type
- Tupolev TU-104
- 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-42486
- Operator
- Aeroflot
- Onboard fatalities
- 122
- Route
- From David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport (KUT)To Domodedovo International Airport (DME)
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems
- Personnel issues › Psychological
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena
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 964 was a flight operated by Aeroflot from Kutaisi Airport, Georgia to Domodedovo Airport, Moscow, Russian SFSR. On 13 October 1973, the Tupolev Tu-104 operating on the route crashed during its approach to Moscow, killing all 122 passengers and crew on board. It remains the deadliest accident involving a Tupolev Tu-104.
Investigation and cause
Causes
The investigation concluded that after the first right turn executed by the aircraft (in which the bank exceeded 40°), multiple navigation instruments including the compass and artificial horizon failed. Combined with the poor visibility at the airport, the crew lost spatial orientation and were unable to see any landmarks to determine their position. When the plane banked slightly to the right, the pilots corrected the right bank only to put the plane into a sharp left bank that reached 70°, causing the crash.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Aeroflot Flight 964” (revision 1339315915, 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 964
- Article
- Aeroflot Flight 964
- Revision
- 1339315915 · 2026-02-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q4688266
- 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 964" (page 38065827, revision 1339315915)
- 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.