An-24 crash near Kerch

The An-24 crash near Kerch was an aviation accident that occurred on Saturday, 13 November 1971 near Kerch. An An-24B airliner of the Simferopol Joint Aviation Squadron of the airline Aeroflot was completing scheduled domestic flight N-639 on the Simferopol — Kerch route, but while approaching to land at Kerch Airport the airliner entered dense fog. Because of the fog the crew became disoriented, and soon the airliner struck power line wires and then a brick warehouse, breaking up in the process. 6 of the 11 people on board — 5 passengers and 6 crew members — were killed, and 5 survived.

Crash

On 13 November 1971 at 07:39 Moscow time, flight N-639 with 6 passengers and 5 crew members (including an accompanying police officer) departed from Simferopol Airport; the flight was operated by An-24B registration USSR-46378, flying from Simferopol to Kerch. After climbing, the airliner levelled off at a flight level of 2400 metres, and the flight took place in simple weather conditions. It was flown by a crew whose captain (PIC) was N. F. Mitringa.

At 07:58 the crew contacted the local air routes controller at Kerch Airport and received instructions from him that the landing would be made on a heading of 250°, as well as the descent conditions, the aerodrome pressure and the weather data (calm, cloud base 150 metres, runway visibility — 1500 metres). The controller then cleared the descent and an approach using the OSP system. The crew acknowledged receipt of the information. At 08:06 the airliner reached the third turn, after which the crew, with a left turn while descending to a height of 400 metres, reached the area of the outer marker (DPRM) and began the approach according to the established pattern. At 08:16 the aircraft reported completing the fourth turn at a height of 500 metres, and at 08:17 — entering the glide path and being ready to land. At 08:18 the controller informed the crew that they had passed the outer marker. The crew acknowledged receipt of the information. The aircraft made no further contact and did not respond to calls.

7 kilometres from the runway threshold the airliner was at a height of 300 metres, and it passed the outer marker at a height of 200 metres. Then within 30 seconds the crew began descending with a vertical speed of 6 m/s at a forward speed of 215—230 km/h, which exceeded the recommended values. 25 seconds after passing the outer marker, when the aircraft had already entered dense morning fog, the crew, unable to see ground references, began to level the aircraft out of the descent. At that point the airliner was at a low relative height and 10—20 metres above runway level. At 08:19, 2610 metres from the runway threshold, 62 metres to the left of its centreline and 17 metres below its level, the An-24 at a speed of 220 km/h struck a 10-metre power line pole and then the roof of a brick warehouse, after which it broke up and caught fire; the main part of the wreckage lay on a country road on the outskirts of the village of Voikovo.

The co-pilot and five passengers were found alive at the crash site. There were no casualties on the ground. 13 days later the co-pilot died of his injuries in hospital. In total 6 people were killed in the crash: the entire crew, a passenger and the accompanying police officer.