Accident of Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-14 CCCP-61618

On 1 January 1966, the crash of the Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-14 СССР-61618 occurred on a domestic scheduled flight from Magadan to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, killing all 23 occupants.

Sequence of events

All times given in Moscow Time (MSK)

The aircraft took off at 1:45 in Magadan and climbed to an altitude of 3,600 m. At 3:47 the pilots reported, between Ust-Khairyuzovo and Sobolevo, that the right engine had failed and that they had feathered its propeller. A further 15 minutes later they reported an altitude of 3,300 m, as the altitude could not be maintained with the remaining engine. The captain was advised to make an emergency landing at Sobolevo Airport. On contacting the airport he learned that the runway was covered in snow. A landing would only have been possible with the landing gear retracted, and the captain decided to continue the flight to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. When the aircraft descended to 2,900 m and thus below the safe altitude of 3,100 m, the pilots were instructed to land at Ust-Bolsheretsk Airport. The same situation existed there as in Sobolevo, and the captain again decided to continue the flight. The aircraft then drifted 25–30 km off course and descended to 2,700 m. The captain mistakenly assumed that this altitude would be sufficient to be able to overfly Mount Yurchik (2,059 m). Shortly afterwards the aircraft flew into snowfall with turbulence, where no turn could be flown with one engine, and continued to lose altitude. It then collided at 5:30 with Yurchik, at an altitude of 2,049 m, i.e. 10 m below the summit, and 60 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

The adverse weather conditions delayed the search operation. The wreck was finally found on 4 January.