Il-12 crash near Kabansk

The Il-12 crash near Kabansk was an aviation accident involving an Il-12P aircraft of Aeroflot that occurred on Thursday, 25 August 1949 in the area of the village of Kabansk (Buryat-Mongol ASSR) on Mount Kabanya, killing 14 people.

Crash

On 24 August the aircraft was operating a special flight from Alma-Ata to Chita, carrying 9 passengers and 600 kilograms of cargo. In the evening at 12:58 (16:58 local time) the airliner made an intermediate landing in Krasnoyarsk. Since it was already dark, the crew and passengers stayed there overnight. The next morning at 02:25 the Il-12 took off from Krasnoyarsk and headed for Chita via Irkutsk. According to the weather forecast received by the crew before departure, on the Krasnoyarsk — Irkutsk route overcast stratocumulus and cumulonimbus clouds with occasional breaks (7–10 oktas) were expected at a height of about 600–1000 metres, with icing in them, passing rain, a strong northerly wind (15–18 m/s), and visibility of 4–10 kilometres. In Irkutsk, meanwhile, cloud at a height of 200–300 metres, rain, a fresh north-westerly wind (7–9 m/s) and visibility of 4–10 kilometres were expected. The flight level was set at 2400 metres, but at 02:40 the crew, flying in cloud, contacted the Krasnoyarsk area control service and requested permission to climb to 3000 metres, which the controller approved. At 03:45 aircraft L1844 reported to Krasnoyarsk that it had passed Nizhneudinsk at 03:35 and had left the Krasnoyarsk zone. Then at 03:52 the crew switched to communication with the control centre in Irkutsk and reported that they were proceeding from Krasnoyarsk to Chita at flight level 3000 metres and had entered the zone of the Irkutsk area control service. In response the controller cleared them to enter the zone.

At 04:30, when the Il-12 was flying at flight level 3000 metres, the crew contacted Irkutsk and reported severe icing of the aircraft, and in connection with this requested permission to descend to flight level 2400 metres and proceed at it, passing over Irkutsk, to Chita. This permission was received. At 04:45 the airliner passed Irkutsk, and at 04:56 the crew received a weather forecast according to which on the route from Irkutsk to Chita upper and middle stratocumulus and nimbostratus cloud of 7–10 oktas was expected, with icing in the clouds, a north-westerly wind of 11–14 m/s, brief rain, and visibility of up to 10 kilometres. The cloud height from Irkutsk to Ulan-Ude was expected to be 300–600 metres, and on the section from Ulan-Ude to Chita 600–1000 metres. In Chita itself stratocumulus and cumulus cloud of 5–9 oktas at a height of 600–1000 metres was expected, with a south-westerly wind of 9–12 m/s gusting to 15–17 m/s, no precipitation, and visibility of about 10 kilometres.

At 05:12 the crew unexpectedly called Irkutsk, without mentioning urgency or distress. The controller was at that time communicating with another aircraft, so aircraft L1844 was asked to wait a minute. However, the crew never made contact again. From 05:15 the controller made repeated attempts to call aircraft L1844, but all were unsuccessful. At 05:14 (11:14 local time) the Il-12, flying at a height of 1200 metres over the valley of the Kabanya River in the eastern Khamar-Daban, was heading straight for the mountain of the same name, and therefore began a right turn with a bank of 10–15°, as if trying to avoid a collision. However, the tip of the right wing panel then suddenly struck a 14-metre spruce and cut off its top, 3 metres high, and 24 metres further on the left wing panel knocked off the top of another such spruce. The crew tried to climb, with the pitch reaching 30°, but after flying only 32 metres the airliner again struck a tree with its left wing panel. From the impact a 4.2-metre-long piece separated from this panel, while at the same time the left propeller cut off the top of another spruce, and the right wing panel struck the top of a third spruce, tearing off the wing fairing on the right panel. Entering a left bank, the Il-12 swept over a distance of 189 metres through another 5 trees, as a result of which the left wing was completely destroyed. Continuing to enter the left bank ever faster, after 414 metres the inverted aircraft crashed into a scree of rocks, was completely destroyed and caught fire.

On the morning of 29 August at 07:30, that is, four days later, the crashed aircraft was found from the air 31 kilometres south of the village of Kabansk (Buryat-Mongol ASSR) on the eastern slope of Mount Kabanya (height 1479 metres) at a height of 1350–1400 metres, that is, 150–200 metres higher than the point of the first impact with the trees. All 14 people on board died instantly on impact with the mountain.