Aeroflot Flight 1080
Yakovlev Yak-40 · Overloading, engine failure after takeoff
From Sverdlovsk-Koltsovo Airport, Sverdlovsk to Taraz International Airport (DMB)
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
- 38 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 38
- 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
Yakovlev Yak-40
- Aircraft type
- Yakovlev YAK-40
- 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-87437
- Operator
- Aeroflot
- Onboard fatalities
- 38
- Route
- From Sverdlovsk-Koltsovo Airport, SverdlovskTo Taraz International Airport (DMB)
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
- Aircraft › Aircraft power plant
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware
- Environmental issues › Operating environment
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Not plotted · Not plotted: the Wikipedia article gives no coordinates, and its site names no town or airport that matches exactly.
From the Wikipedia article
Aeroflot Flight 1080 was a Soviet domestic passenger flight from Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), Russia, to Dzhambul (now Taraz), Kazakhstan, that crashed at night shortly after takeoff on 7 October 1978. All 38 passengers and crew were killed in the crash which occurred when one of the engines failed due to icing during initial climb out. At the time, the crash was the second worst in the history of the Yakovlev Yak-40, which had entered operational service with Aeroflot just ten years prior.
Accident
At 19:48 YEKT on 7 October 1978, Aeroflot Flight 1080 commenced its takeoff roll on runway 26 at Sverdlovsk-Koltsovo Airport. Due to the presence of a crosswind and the fact that the aircraft was overloaded, it took off at a speed of 205 km/h. At 19:50, the crew reported to air traffic control that its left engine had failed.
Just one hundred meters off the ground, the aircraft began turning to the left. At 19:51, controllers observed a flash and a fire on a forested hillside close to the airport. The aircraft had struck trees while it was still 23 meters (75 ft) in the air and hit the ground shortly after, destroying the airframe and detaching the flight's tail and rear stabilizers. All 38 people aboard Flight 1080 were killed in the catastrophe.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
The Soviet State Research Institute of Civil Aviation accident commission determined the crash to be the fault of the crew. The aircraft was loaded beyond its specified limits, consequently requiring additional thrust on takeoff. The crew failed to take into account icing conditions which were present at the time of the accident. All three engines had been affected by a buildup of ice. The left engine failed shortly after takeoff and the right and middle produced insufficient levels of power. The commission also cited air traffic control's failure to point out nearby terrain after giving the aircraft clearance to turn left after takeoff at an altitude of just one hundred meters as a contributing factor to the accident.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Aeroflot Flight 1080” (revision 1371308745, 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 1080
- Article
- Aeroflot Flight 1080
- Revision
- 1371308745 · 2026-08-25 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q16662643
- 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 1080" (page 56405459, revision 1371308745)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- none
- 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.