FLIGHT FINDINGSAVIATION OCCURRENCE MAP
Back to map

1957 Kiev mid-air collision

17 Aug 1957 · Kiev, Soviet Union

Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-14G and Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-14M · Mid-air collision

Report a problem

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
15 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
6
Occupants
Unknown
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
23 · all on the ground
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

Aircraft 1 · Ilyushin Il-14G

Aircraft type
Ilyushin IL-14
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
СССР-Л1360
Operator
Aeroflot
Onboard fatalities
4
Occupants
Not stated
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
None · no survivors
Route
From Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany) (IEV)To Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany) (IEV)

Aircraft 2 · Ilyushin Il-14M

Aircraft type
Ilyushin IL-14
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
СССР-Л2071
Operator
Aeroflot
Onboard fatalities
5
Occupants
Not stated
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
None · no survivors
Route
From Sofia Airport (SOF)To Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany) (IEV)

Cause areas

  • Environmental issues › Operating environment
  • Personnel issues › Miscellaneous

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

Approximate · Estimated position: Kyiv, the place the Wikipedia article names. Not the accident site.

From the Wikipedia article

The 1957 Kiev mid-air collision occurred on 17 August 1957 when two Ilyushin Il-14s collided over Kyiv (then spelled in English as "Kiev", using the Russian spelling), killing 15 people, including nine on both aircraft.

Accident

At 19:45, Flight 126 entered the Kiev-Zhulyany area at 900 m. The crew contacted air traffic control and was instructed to approach the airport in a small circle. At the same time, СССР-Л1360 took off at approximately 19:54.

At 20:02, while Flight 126 was making a turn, the two aircraft collided at about 250–300 m. The propeller of the Il-14M struck СССР-Л1360's right wing. The propellers went into the Il-14M's cockpit, cutting it off and killing the pilots. Both aircraft dived into the ground and crashed into several houses 4.5 km from the airport.

All nine on board both aircraft along with six people on the ground were killed in the disaster. A further 23 were injured, 12 of them seriously.

Investigation and cause

Investigation

The investigation determined the cause to be primarily ATC error, specifically the guidance and assistance of the air traffic controller at Kiev-Zhulyany Airport. Aeroflot Flight 126 was not told about the presence of another Il-14 performing training manoeuvres in the area. The crew members on both aircraft's lack of caution also contributed to the disaster.

Text from the Wikipedia article “1957 Kiev mid-air collision” (revision 1371558403, 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: 1957 Kiev mid-air collision
Article
1957 Kiev mid-air collision
Revision
1371558403 · 2026-08-27 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q16702257
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 "1957 Kiev mid-air collision" (page 76087080, revision 1371558403)
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site
Map position
place the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata 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
operator is an airline according to Wikidata
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.