Il-14 crash near Makhachkala

The air crash near Makhachkala was the crash on 10 December 1969 of an Il-14P aircraft of the airline “Aeroflot”, registration СССР-52010, operating a flight on the route Tbilisi — Makhachkala — Astrakhan. Soon after take-off the aircraft collided with a flock of migrating birds. The cockpit and control units were destroyed, and the pilots were incapacitated. The aircraft went out of control and fell into the Caspian Sea. All 17 people on board were killed.

Circumstances of the crash

The crew of the 112th Flight Detachment landed in Makhachkala at 17:58 and, after refuelling, took off at 18:29 in the direction of the sea. On board were 11 passengers and, probably, a ticketless passenger — a Tu-104 co-pilot of the 112th Flight Detachment who was on leave. The weather at that moment was: stratocumulus cloud, visibility 7 km. 1 minute 45 sec. after take-off the aircraft commander reported it. After the controller requested weather data (on the cloud base), the crew reported that over the sea there was fractostratus cloud at 120—150 m, not indicated in the weather forecast. Then for 11 minutes there was no radio exchange, and afterwards the crew did not come on the air and did not respond to calls. The aircraft was found on 11 December at a depth of 10 m, 3500 m from the shore, at a distance of 8 km. The flight lasted about four minutes. The aircraft climbed to a height of 250—280 m and made a left turn onto the course to be followed over the sea, and at a height of 300—350 m rolled out of the turn, continuing to climb. At a height of 350—400 m a rapidly developing emergency situation arose, leading to an involuntary descent at a high vertical speed and a collision with the water surface at a steep angle at 18:33.

Over the next several days various small pieces of wreckage of the aircraft were washed ashore, as well as the bodies of all three children who had been on board and the body of a woman. Various parts of the aircraft were raised from the seabed, including both engines and elements of the cockpit, as well as part of a man's body. It was established that at the moment of the collision with the sea surface both engines were running, and the landing gear and flaps were retracted. Bones of a bird's skull were found between the cylinder fins of the left engine, and remains of wings and numerous feathers in pieces of the cockpit thermal insulation.

The commission that investigated the accident concluded that the most likely cause of the crash was a collision with a flock of birds. It was difficult to name the exact cause because of the severe destruction and submersion of the aircraft. During this period, geese, herons and other birds migrate at a height of 300—400 m at any time of day. As a result of the collision, the cockpit was destroyed and the crew members were incapacitated.