Kirovabad collision (1989)

The Kirovabad collision was an aviation accident that occurred on Thursday 12 October 1989, when two military aircraft collided at Kirovabad aerodrome (Azerbaijan SSR), killing 7 people.

Crash

A Su-24 bomber of the Soviet Air Force was to perform a night flight. While taxiing out to the runway, the crew did not notice that they had crossed that very runway and had in fact taxied onto the taxiway located beyond it. The lights on the taxiway differ from the runway lights, and moreover the directions differed by 7°, but the bomber's crew did not pay attention to these circumstances and began the take-off. Having run only about five hundred metres, the Su-24 struck with its wing an empty bus standing on the taxiway, and then a transport An-12, which was refuelling at that time, after which both aircraft exploded. The bomber's navigator Gorodchukov managed to eject before the collision and survived; pilot Grigoryev died. 4 crew members died on board the transport aircraft. The other 3 were outside on the aerodrome, so they were not hurt. Two military members of the aerodrome ground personnel died — the driver of the fuel tanker and an officer of the fuel and lubricants service. Thus the total number of victims of the disaster was 7 people.