Il-14 crash on Graham Bell Island

On Sunday 20 October 1963, an Il-14 crashed on Graham Bell Island (Franz Josef Land), killing 7 people.

Course of the flight

On 20 October the aircraft was to carry out ice reconnaissance in the vicinity of Franz Josef Land on behalf of the icebreaker Indigirka. It was flown by a crew from the 254th Flight Detachment consisting of captain N. V. Mironenko, co-pilot K. E. Saunin, navigator P. P. Potapov, flight engineer I. M. Abramchenko and radio operator L. S. Ovchinnikov. On board the aircraft as observers were two employees of the AARI (Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute) — hydrologists N. P. Iretsky and D. N. Muratov.

At 08:20 (here and below — Moscow time, UTC+3) the Il-14 took off from Nagurskoye aerodrome on Alexandra Land. The flight took place in difficult meteorological conditions. According to the weather forecasts, along the entire flight route the sky was covered by continuous multi-layered cloud from a height of 100—200 to 2500—3000 metres. There was precipitation (snow, drizzle), fog, and a risk of icing in the clouds. Visibility did not exceed 4 km. As the flight progressed, the weather conditions continued to deteriorate.

The last report of the aircraft's position was received at 10:55. The crew reported coordinates determined for 10:30 (north of Hoffman Island), a heading of 110° and a visually estimated flight altitude of 200 metres. According to the findings of the commission that investigated the accident, from this time until 11:50 the aircraft passed north of Graham Bell Island, then rounded it from the east and south and ended up in Morgan Strait, about 6 km wide.

At 11:50 the aircraft made contact with the aerodrome on Graham Bell Island, where it planned to land, and requested a signal for taking a bearing, after which communication with it was lost.

Circumstances of the crash

In the commission's opinion, having obtained the bearing, the aircraft's crew came to the mistaken conclusion that the narrow part of Morgan Strait with its high shores had already been passed, and turned towards Graham Bell aerodrome, expecting to fly over fast ice. Owing to design shortcomings, the radio altimeter and radar on board did not show the mass of the glacier descending from the island's shore. In conditions of limited visibility, estimated by the commission at 1—2 km, the aircraft's crew at about 12:00 allowed a collision with the glacier at a height of approximately 150 metres above sea level, after which the aircraft flew another 750 metres, struck the glacier a second time at a height of 200 metres, broke apart and burned.

The search for the accident site was hampered by bad weather. By the time it was found on 23 October, the aircraft's wreckage had frozen into the glacier, which had partially melted as a result of the fire. The bodies of only four of the seven people on board could be found.