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Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104 CCCP-42495 accident

25 Oct 1962 · Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport, Russian SFSR

Tupolev Tu-104 · Loss of control

From Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport, Russian SFSR to Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport, 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
11 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
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
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

Tupolev Tu-104

Aircraft type
Tupolev TU-104
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-42495
Operator
Aeroflot
Onboard fatalities
11
Route
From Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport, Russian SFSRTo Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport, Russian SFSR

Cause areas

  • Aircraft › Aircraft handling/service
  • Personnel issues › Task performance
  • Organizational issues › Development
  • Organizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring
  • Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge

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

Approximate · Estimated position: Sheremetyevo International Airport, the airport the Wikipedia article names as the site. Where on or near it is not known.

From the Wikipedia article

On 25 October 1962 the accident of Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104 CCCP-42495 occurred, when a Tupolev Tu-104 crashed on takeoff for a test flight, killing all 11 occupants.

Sequence of events

At the time of the accident visibility was 30 km. The Tu-104 lifted off at 10:33 heading west (248°) after a takeoff run of 1,550–1,600 m and began to roll to the left. First the Tupolev grazed the ground with its left wing at 90° of left bank, before it smashed upside down into a forest at 150° of left bank, seconds after lifting off. Both the landing gear and the landing flaps (10°) remained extended.

Investigation and cause

Cause

During maintenance the mechanic had accidentally swapped the aileron cables, which is why the ailerons deflected in the opposite direction in each case, especially since the design of the Tu-104 did not prevent this either. Afterwards the mechanic also did not deflect the control wheel to check his work for errors. His supervisor did not check him; he was also not trained, and for the engineer it was the first inspection without guidance. Finally, Captain Rodionov, who allowed 6 technicians on board although they were superfluous for the test flight, also forgot to deflect the ailerons during the takeoff preparations.

Translated into English with AI assistance from the German Wikipedia article “Flugunfall der Tupolew Tu-104 CCCP-42495 der Aeroflot” (revision 262616809, retrieved 2026-09-19) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out; the translation may contain errors, and long articles were cut to their first 700 words. Read the article

Sources

German Wikipedia article: Flugunfall der Tupolew Tu-104 CCCP-42495 der Aeroflot
Article
Flugunfall der Tupolew Tu-104 CCCP-42495 der Aeroflot
Translation
Into English with AI assistance; names of linked operators and aircraft types from Wikidata. It may contain errors.
Revision
262616809 · 2025-12-21 · retrieved 2026-09-19
Wikidata
Q111154779
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
de Wikipedia article "Flugunfall der Tupolew Tu-104 CCCP-42495 der Aeroflot" (page 12144199, revision 262616809), translated into English with AI assistance
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site
Map position
airport the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata code, OurAirports)
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: aircraft fatalities
Ground fatalities
not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
Summary
Wikipedia article lead
Source notes (1)
  • Wikipedia · Facts from the German Wikipedia article's infobox, translated into English with AI assistance, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.