FLIGHT FINDINGSAVIATION OCCURRENCE MAP
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Aeroflot Flight 068

16 Mar 1961 · near Koltsovo Airport

Tupolev Tu-104B · Emergency landing after contained engine failure, due to crew shutting down working engine

From Khabarovsk Novy Airport (KHV) to Pulkovo Airport (LED)

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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
7 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
2
Occupants
51
Survivors
46
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
31
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

Tupolev Tu-104B

Aircraft type
Tupolev TU-104
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-42438
Operator
Aeroflot
Onboard fatalities
5
Route
From Khabarovsk Novy Airport (KHV)To Pulkovo Airport (LED)

Cause areas

  • Aircraft › Aircraft power plant
  • Personnel issues › Task performance

From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.

Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.

From the Wikipedia article

Aeroflot Flight 068 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight operated by Aeroflot from Khabarovsk to Saint Petersburg with intermediate stops at Novosibirsk, then Koltsovo Airport in Yekaterinburg. On 16 March 1961, following an engine failure shortly after takeoff from Koltsovo Airport, the Tupolev Tu-104B operating this flight made an emergency landing on a frozen lake. Two crew members and three passengers died, along with two people on the ground, however 46 of those on board survived.

Investigation and cause

Investigation

Metal fatigue cracks caused a blade on the second stage of the compressor failed after takeoff, resulting in the failure of the right engine and severe vibrations. The left engine's inadvertent shut down was also cited as a contributing factor.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Aeroflot Flight 068” (revision 1368349001, 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 068
Article
Aeroflot Flight 068
Revision
1368349001 · 2026-08-08 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q16662541
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 068" (page 58126562, revision 1368349001)
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site; country from Wikidata (P17)
Map position
Wikipedia article coordinates
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: total_fatalities
Ground fatalities
Wikipedia infobox: ground fatalities
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.