Aeroflot Flight 245

Aeroflot Flight 245 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Soviet Union, to Sochi International Airport in Sochi, Soviet Union. On 17 December 1961, the Ilyushin Il-18B flying this route crashed during the cruise phase of the flight, resulting in the death of all 59 people on board. An investigation revealed the aircraft entered a steep dive after the flaps were accidentally extended.

Accident

Flight 245 was a scheduled passenger flight from Vnukovo to Sochi. At 14:34 Moscow time the Il-18 departed Vnukovo International Airport and climbed to its cruising altitude of 8000 m. At 15:47 the crew contacted ATC and gave a position report, then the flight again communicated with ATC at 15:52. At 15:59 the controller was unable to raise flight 245 and it disappeared from radar. While in level flight cruising at 630 km/h the flight engineer inadvertently moved the flaps selector to full extension of 40 degrees and due to the large amount of drag and the Il-18's peculiar aerodynamic design the aircraft pitched over and entered a steep descent. Without retracting the flaps it would be almost impossible to regain control of the aircraft and due to the high negative g-force the crew were experiencing they could not reach the flap selector. As the airliner gained speed in its dive the port and starboard flap assemblies were ripped from the wing by high aerodynamic forces. At 16:00 the aircraft impacted the ground at very high speed with the landing gear retracted and at a pitch angle of 107 degrees. The impact crater measured from 3.5 to 5 meters deep and the debris field was 300 to 350 meters in width.