Aeroflot Flight 3603

Investigation

According to the commission, the crew had no reason to stop the approach 9 seconds before the collision, and deflecting the elevator all the way to pitch up was an attempt to reduce the vertical speed and hold the plane on the glide path. Only at a speed of 261–263 km/h, when the longitudinal control of the aircraft was lost and the centering was close to the front, did the crew decide to go around. As for aircraft alignment, after interviews with alignment controllers and loaders at the Krasnoyarsk airport, as well as flight attendants, it was determined that during landing it was 20.5-19% of the mean aerodynamic chord (MAC), and according to balancing characteristics 16-18% MAC.

According to the investigative commission, the transportation service at Krasnoyarsk airport committed the following violations:

The nominal load was calculated based on the standard weight of one adult passenger and a child of 75 75 kg, and not 80 kg and 30 kg, respectively, as a result of which the actual weight was 565 kg more than that indicated in the transportation documents.

Four passengers were not issued coupons for free transportation of children, which is why there were 6 unaccounted small children on board, thereby increasing the actual weight relative to that indicated in the documents by another 120 kg.

Conclusion of the commission

The cause of the disaster is the loss of longitudinal control of the aircraft at the final stage of landing due to:

a significant reduction in the effectiveness of the elevator when it is deflected "towards itself" at angles of more than (−20°);

transfer of engines by automatic traction to a mode close to low throttle;

forward operational alignment position of the aircraft;

late recognition by the crew of an emergency situation and, in connection with this, untimely decision to make a go-around.