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Aeroflot Flight 29674

24 Jan 1988 · near Nizhnevartovsk Airport, Nizhenvartovsk, RSFSR, USSR

Bugulminsky OJSC, a unit of Aeroflot Yakovlev Yak-40 · Unexplained engine failure on takeoff, loss of control

From Nizhnevartovsk Airport (NJC) to Bugulma Airport (UUA)

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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
27 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
31
Survivors
4
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-87549
Onboard fatalities
27
Route
From Nizhnevartovsk Airport (NJC)To Bugulma Airport (UUA)

Cause areas

  • Aircraft › Aircraft power plant

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 29674 was a domestic passenger flight in RSFSR, Soviet Union, en routing Nizhenvartovsk - Tyumen - Bugulma. On 24 January 1988, the Yakovlev Yak-40 hit a powerline, and crashed into a ravine slope just shortly after take-off, killing 27 of the 31 on board.

Accident

The plane began taking off from Nizhnevartovsk Airport at 18:50. As the plane accelerated to 150 km/h (81 knots), the flight engineer noticed the "air starter open" indicator light had illuminated. When the plane started lifting off at 215-225 km/h (116 - 122 knots), all 3 engines begin slowing down. Engine 1 and 3 only producing 6-8% while engine 2 producing 74% of its thrust. It then produced more up to 92-95%, but plane had already been slowing down and losing altitude.

At an altitude of 6 meters (19 feet), the plane clipped some treetops. After flying for 87 more meters, it crashed into the ground near the edge of a ravine. As the plane skidding for 20 more minutes, the plane entered the ravine slope at a bank angle of more than 60 degrees, then struck a power line support, completely destroying the plane. The flight lasted 92 seconds.

Investigation and cause

Investigation

The investigation concluded that the plane crash was due to the loss of power in all 3 engines during take-off leading to loss of control. However, the cause of the power loss in the engines has not been determined, there are two theories for this loss:

When the flight engineer noticed the "air starter open" indicator light had illuminated, he pulled the throttle back to idle, shutting down the other engines. After noticed the problem, the crew re-activated the take-off mode, but it was too late.

Air pockets had formed in the fuel system due to air ingress, causing the airlock that disrupted the fuel flow.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Aeroflot Flight 29674” (revision 1374520561, 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 29674
Article
Aeroflot Flight 29674
Revision
1374520561 · 2026-09-12 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q16662641
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 29674" (page 77606371, revision 1374520561)
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site
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: 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.