Aeroflot Flight 302

Aeroflot Flight 302 was an aviation accident that occurred on Monday, 16 February 1966 near Pechora and involved an Ilyushin Il-14M passenger aircraft operated by Aeroflot. An engine fire damaged the right wing, which separated while the aircraft was attempting an emergency landing, killing 26 people.

The accident

The aircraft was operating flights 301/302 on the Syktyvkar – Vorkuta – Syktyvkar route. It took off from Vorkuta at 15:30 in clear weather and levelled off once it had reached 2,100 metres. At 16:23, approaching the airspace of Pechora airport, the pilots contacted the approach controller, reported the flight conditions and requested permission to cross the area. The controller informed them of their position relative to the airport (98 kilometres away, reciprocal heading 210°) and cleared them to approach and pass at an altitude of 2,100 metres.

At 16:31, someone in the crew pressed the transmitter button and the controller heard the sound of the fire alarm, but at first no message came from the crew; a minute later, however, the radio operator reported: "The right engine is on fire, we are descending". The controller replied: "Expect to land with us", after which communications ceased and the crew did not respond to further calls.

After detecting the fire in the right engine, the crew activated the fire extinguishing system and reported the situation to the ground. Realising that the fire had not been extinguished and was spreading rapidly, the pilots decided to make an emergency landing away from the airport and even selected a site clear of trees. However, at 16:35, when the Il-14M was 40 kilometres from Pechora airport and 100 metres above the ground, the right engine separated because of the fire. The Ilyushin went out of control and, entering a steep dive (at an angle of 90°), crashed into a frozen swamp near the Bolshaya Vyatkina river, then disintegrated and burned. All 26 people on board (8 crew members and 18 passengers) died.