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Aeroflot Flight 35

30 Apr 1953 · Volga, Kazan, Tatarstan, Russian SFSR

Ilyushin Il-12 · Bird strike leading to ditching

From Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) to Severny Airport, Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russian SFSR

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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
1 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
23
Survivors
22
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

Ilyushin Il-12

Aircraft type
Ilyushin IL-12
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-Л1777
Operator
Aeroflot
Onboard fatalities
1
Route
From Vnukovo International Airport (VKO)To Severny Airport, Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russian SFSR

Cause areas

  • Environmental issues › Physical environment
  • Aircraft › Aircraft power plant

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

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

From the Wikipedia article

Aeroflot Flight 35 was a domestic route from Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow to Severny Airport in Novosibirsk, with a stop at Kazan-2 Airport in Kazan. On 30 April 1953, the Ilyushin Il-12 flying this route suffered a bird strike, causing the engines to fail, of which then the crew decided to ditch in the Volga River in Kazan, saving all but one passenger on the flight.

Investigation and cause

Investigation

The investigation revealed that the plane had collided with a pack of ducks. Pieces of them were found between the cylinders of the left propeller. A duck had hit the cockpit glass, reducing the pilots' visibility. The strike caused the ignition of both of the propellers to fail. This caused the combustible mixture that entered the cylinders to ignite inside the exhaust pipes; therefore, the crew mistook it with an in-flight fire.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Aeroflot Flight 35” (revision 1371271493, 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 35
Article
Aeroflot Flight 35
Revision
1371271493 · 2026-08-25 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q19909326
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 35" (page 83859731, revision 1371271493)
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
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.