Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134 accident near Liepaja

The accident of an Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134 near Liepaja occurred on 22 March 1979. On that day a Tupolev Tu-134A on a flight from Omsk via Gorky to Liepaja crashed on approach to the destination airport because of poor visibility and overloading. Four of the five occupants on board were killed in the accident.

Accident sequence

During the night of 21 to 22 March 1979, a cargo flight was operated with the aircraft to transport components from Omsk to Liepāja – destined for a radio and radio-equipment plant there, a branch of the Riga-based enterprise “Kommutator” (which manufactured communications equipment). Because the aircraft had not been fitted with a cargo door during its conversion, loading was carried out through the forward passenger door. To make their work easier, the loaders began by moving the lightest crates to the rear of the cabin, while placing the heaviest in the forward area, closer to the door. The cargo was not weighed and no load and centre-of-gravity plan was drawn up. As a result, the aircraft's centre of gravity shifted beyond the permissible forward limit. It was also later established that the total weight of the cargo was 8 tonnes; the aircraft was thus overloaded by 752 kilograms.

The Tupolev Tu-134A (registration USSR-65031) took off In the night of 22 March at 22:49 Moscow time with five crew members on board from Strigino Airport in Gorky; the flight was from Omsk to Liepāja with an intermediate landing in Gorky.

The crew carried out the approach at night in snowfall and rain (visibility 900 metres). It was already after midnight when the Tu-134 approached Liepāja; however, the airport's operating hours had been extended specially for this flight. At 00:53 the crew received weather data: sleet, a vertical visibility of 100 metres, wind from 230° at 12 m/s (gusting up to 16 m/s) and an air pressure of 748 mmHg. Although these conditions met the minimums required for a Tu-134 landing, they did not meet the airport's specific operating minimums; consequently the air traffic controller should have diverted the aircraft to an alternate airport. The controller failed to do so, however, and the Tu-134 began its approach on a magnetic heading of 248°, with the co-pilot at the controls.

The approach was unstable; the aircraft descended too quickly and got below the glide path. The crew initiated the descent immediately after extending the flaps. Because of the shifted centre of gravity, the aircraft stabilised in level flight only at a height of 310 metres and a speed of 265 km/h – so that it entered the glide path late – while also making constant rolling (left-right) and pitching (up-down) movements. On passing through the cloud layer, the Tu-134 passed the outer approach beacon at a height of 180 metres; the crew then continued the descent even though the aircraft was to the right of and below the glide path. After descending below the decision height of 80 metres, the pilots did not immediately initiate a go-around despite having no visual contact with the ground. In addition, they steered the aircraft to the left in order to return to the course line, while the rate of descent reached 8 m/s. At a height of 180 metres the crew disengaged the autopilot. The aircraft had deviated to the right of the localizer.

The crew tried to establish visual contact with the ground and initiated a left turn. The aircraft was at a height of 60 metres when the crew finally decided on a go-around; the thrust levers were advanced to take-off power, but this was already too late. The overloaded aircraft responded sluggishly to the control inputs. At 00:57 (Moscow time) the Tu-134 clipped treetops at a height of 10 to 12 metres – at a point 1690 metres short of the runway threshold and 155 metres to the right of the extended runway centreline. The left wing was damaged in the process. The impact caused the aircraft to yaw to the left; it crossed the runway centreline and at 00:57, banked 45 degrees to the left, struck a two-metre-high railway embankment, breaking apart and catching fire.

Four of the five crew members were killed in the crash; the flight engineer was the only survivor, but sustained injuries. The victims are buried in the Rainis Cemetery in Riga.