1969 Yukhnov mid-air collision

The 1969 Yukhnov mid-air collision occurred when an Ilyushin Il-14M, operating as Aeroflot Flight 831, a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Moscow-Bykovo Airport to Simferopol Airport, Crimea collided in the air on 23 June 1969 with an Antonov An-12BP of the Soviet Air Force over the Yukhnovsky district of Kaluga Oblast, in the Russian SFSR of the Soviet Union. All 120 occupants of both aircraft perished in the crash.

Crash details

At 13:25 the An-12 involved in the accident (callsign 08525) took off from Kėdainiai Air Base, and was the last one in a formation of four to take off. The four An-12s took off in 8-10 minute intervals and held altitudes between 3000 and 3600 m.

At 14:07 the Ilyushin Il-14 took off from Bykovo Airport and climbed to the assigned altitude of 2700 m.

At 14:40:55 the crew of Il-14 contacted air traffic control and requested permission to climb to 3300 m due to severe turbulence and cumulus clouds. Due to the An-12s at 3000 m, the controller instead offered to grant permission for the flight to descend to 2700 m, but the pilots of the Il-14 declined the offer because the turbulence may be worse at a lower altitude.

At 14:50:17 the An-12 passed over Yukhnov and was switched to another controller and confirmed that they were at an altitude of 3000 m.

At 14:52 the two aircraft collided over Yukhnov. The An-12 was on a bearing of 106-121° with a speed of 500 - 529 kph; the Il-14 was on a bearing of 235-245° with a speed of 324 - 360 kphh. The aircraft first struck at the wingtips; then the An-12's nose collided with the right horizontal stabilizer of the Il-14. The An-12 lost the right wing and right wing engines from the impact, causing the aircraft to spin to the ground. The Il-14 lost part of the right wing and the upper part of the fuselage. The An-12 crashed in a field near Vypolzovo village, and the Il-14 crashed near Trinity village. The aircraft fell approximately 3800 m apart from each other. All 120 people aboard both aircraft perished.