Li-2 crash near Ulyanovsk

The Li-2 crash near Ulyanovsk was an aviation accident involving an Aeroflot Li-2 aircraft that occurred on Friday 29 March 1957 in the area of Ulyanovsk, in which 4 people were killed.

Crash

The crew was to perform a flight during which the Li-2 aircraft was required to patrol over the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, while the aircraft was to be photographed from the ground. At 11:35 the Li-2 departed from Kuibyshev and at 12:05, at an altitude of 1500 metres, entered the zone of Barataevka Airport (Ulyanovsk). The flight director instructed the crew to climb to an altitude of 3000 metres and begin carrying out the task, while not moving further than 10 kilometres away from the automobile plant. At 12:23 the aircraft reported reaching an altitude of 3000 metres and beginning the task. In Ulyanovsk at that time the weather was good, with haze, visibility of 5 kilometres, and no turbulence observed. In total, in the period from 12:05 to 14:06, aircraft L4967 contacted the airport control tower five times and the Kuibyshev area control centre three times, and in all cases the crew reported that the task was proceeding normally. No sharp manoeuvres were observed from the ground either. When the task was finished, at 14:05 the aircraft requested permission to land at Ulyanovsk Airport to refuel and stay overnight. However, landing at the airport was prohibited, and the crew acknowledged receiving this information. Since the aircraft was poorly visible because of the haze, at 14:15 photographing it from the ground was stopped. Then at 14:25—14:30 the controller of the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant telephoned Ulyanovsk Airport and reported that the aircraft was no longer required. Learning of this, the flight director tried to call the crew, but it did not respond. As a result of a search, the next day the wreckage of the aircraft was found in a snow-covered field 20 kilometres from Barataevka Airport.

Following the patrol route, the Li-2 was in the area where a standard turn was being made when suddenly the left wing, the right outer part of the horizontal stabiliser, as well as the elevators and the upper part of the rudder separated. The airliner plunged downward and at 14:33—14:34 (the time was determined from a watch found at the crash site) struck the ground, being completely destroyed, and the entire crew (4 people) was killed. The left wing with part of the centre section fell 560 metres from it. Part of the rudder lay 250 metres from the wing, and part of the elevator 120—150 metres away.