Aeroflot Flight U-45

Aeroflot Flight U-45 was a passenger flight operated by an Ilyushin Il-18 that crashed during the approach to Samarkand on 6 February 1970, killing 92 of the 106 people on board. An investigation revealed the aircraft went below the minimum obstacle clearance altitude (MOCA) during approach to Samarkand International Airport.

Accident

Flight U-45 was a scheduled domestic flight from Tashkent to Samarkand. At 14:11 Moscow time the Il-18 departed Tashkent International Airport and climbed to a cruising altitude of 5,100 meters in instrument meteorological conditions. At 14:33 ATC contacted Flight U-45 and gave permission to descend to 2,700 meters and reported their distance to Samarkand Airport at 93 kilometers. At 14:35 the controller advised the crew that they would use the approach to runway 27, but then at 14:36 due to a change in wind direction it was decided to use runway 09 and at 14:38 ATC reported the distance to the airport at 53 kilometers.

Nearing the airport Flight U-45 switched frequencies and contacted the approach controller at Samarkand Airport and at 14:39 were advised that the aircraft was 48 kilometers from the airport and granted permission to descend to 2,400 meters. The approach controller then misread his radar screen and reported the flight was 31 km out when in fact it was 42–44 km. This led to the aircraft descending too early before crossing a mountain range. The controller cleared the flight for landing on runway 09 and at 14:40 the crew accepted the clearance. This was the last transmission from flight U-45. At 14:42 at an altitude of 1,500 meters and 32 kilometers northeast of the airport the Il-18 crashed into the side of a mountain at a speed of 380 km/h while descending at seven meters per second. After the initial impact the aircraft separated into five pieces. The co-pilot and 13 passengers survived with injuries and the remaining 7 crew members and 85 passengers were killed.