Aeroflot Flight 1255

Cause

According to the official documents, the runway was 1100 metres long and 100 metres wide, with an additional 250-metre safety zone beyond it. In reality it was 1080 metres long and 98 metres wide, with only a 90-metre safety zone. Contrary to regulations, there were also no markings from which the position of the aircraft on the runway could have been read. Without the pilots knowing the dimensions, Savchishkin neither checked Potapov's speed calculations for V1, V2 and Vr (see rotation point) nor assessed the condition of the runway or the takeoff conditions. Contrary to the flight manual, he trimmed the horizontal stabiliser to −5° instead of −6° and switched on the aircraft de-icing, although this was not necessary at +14 °C. Without de-icing, the takeoff ground roll at a takeoff mass of 16.1 tonnes and the other conditions would have been 1150 metres; with de-icing, however, it was 1270 metres.

When Captain Savchishkin tried to take off, he decided to abort only late and did not know what to do next. As early as 1963 he had been dismissed from commercial aviation for drunkenness. He had also been expelled from the Komsomol for misconduct. His father, an instructor, knew of his son's deficient flying skills, but nevertheless managed to get him a job in the Lipetsk division (see OAO) of Aeroflot. Savchishkin in turn received several disciplinary penalties there and was arrogant and condescending towards his colleagues. When he was questioned after the accident, he showed only limited knowledge of the flight manual, in particular regarding de-icing.

Ultimately, the investigators concluded that the accident was caused because the pilots tried to take off from an unsuitable, wet runway and air traffic control did not prohibit the takeoff, despite the rain that had already begun during boarding.