Il-12 crash near Magadan (1958)

The Il-12 crash near Magadan was an aviation accident that occurred in the daytime on Monday, 9 June 1958 on the Staritsky Peninsula, near Magadan. An Il-12P airliner of the Khabarovsk Separate Aviation Detachment of Aeroflot was completing scheduled domestic flight SU-105 on the Khabarovsk — Okhotsk — Magadan route, but while approaching to land at Magadan's 13 km airport, the airliner, flying in difficult weather conditions, crashed into a hill on the Staritsky Peninsula and was completely destroyed. All 24 people on board died — 20 passengers and 4 crew members.

As of 2024, this is the deadliest aviation accident in Magadan Oblast.

Crash

On 9 June 1958 at 10:16 local time (01:16 Moscow time) flight 105 took off from Okhotsk airport; the flight was operated by Il-12P aircraft CCCP-L1364, flying from Khabarovsk to Magadan with an intermediate stop in Okhotsk, and there were 24 people on board — 20 passengers and 4 crew members. As far as Okhotsk the flight proceeded without deviations. In Okhotsk the crew received the weather forecast for Magadan: overcast with breaks (7-10 oktas) stratocumulus and fractonimbus cloud with a base of 300–600 metres, calm, rain, visibility from 4 to 10 kilometres. After climbing, flight 105 took up flight level 2400 metres.

At 11:20 the crew reported to the controller passing Balagannoye and received permission to enter the zone of Magadan airport. At 11:30 the crew established contact with the airport's air traffic control service and reported flying in cloud at a height of 2400 metres, to which the flight director gave permission to descend first to 1800 metres and then to 1500 metres. At 11:48 the aircraft reported passing the homing beacon, to which the flight director gave permission to descend and penetrate the cloud according to the established procedure. Subsequently, under questioning, the flight director would say that he had passed the landing conditions and weather information to the crew, including the cloud base of 600 metres. But according to the recording of the communications between the controller and the crew, this was not done. The crew no longer made contact and did not answer calls.

Over Magadan the sky was in fact overcast with a cloud base of 300 metres, it was raining, and visibility was 6 kilometres. When the commander received permission to penetrate the cloud, flying the procedure, he descended to a height of 600 metres. However, during the approach the aircraft, for an undetermined reason, deviated from the assigned track line and was now heading towards the mountains. Then, flying through clouds at a height of only 300 metres, the commander saw a bay through the breaks. Deciding that it was Gertner Bay, the crew continued descending and flew into the clouds. In reality, the bay they had seen was Vesyolaya Bay, which is several kilometres to the south. At 11:50 (02:50 Moscow time) the Il-12, flying in cloud at a height of 430 metres, clipped the tops of several trees and then, 16.5 kilometres south of the airport, crashed into a hill on the Staritsky Peninsula. After sweeping along the slope for 130 metres through trees and rocks and rising along it to the 500-metre mark above sea level, the airliner was completely destroyed, and all 24 people on board died.

This is the deadliest aviation accident in Magadan Oblast. A symbolic wooden cross now stands at the accident site.