An-2P crash near Borovoye

The An-2P crash near Borovoye was an aviation disaster that occurred on 24 May 1974. An Aeroflot An-2P airliner operating Flight K-476 on the Avangard — Kokchetav route crashed into a mountain after deviating from the route while flying in difficult meteorological conditions. The aircraft was found the next day, west of the settlement of Borovoye, in a forest on the slope of Mount Kokshe (Sinyukha) (947 m) at the 850 m mark, destroyed and burnt out. All 15 people on board were killed, including 2 crew members.

Crash

A crew of the 303rd Flight Detachment was operating flights K-475/476 Kokchetav — Shchuchinsk — Avangard — Chapayevo — Pavlodar and back. While preparing for the flight at Pavlodar airport, the crew received the weather forecast for the route and the landing point Chapayevo from 10:35 to 15:00, which provided for: northern periphery of a cyclone, cloud 5-10 oktas upper, middle, 6-9 oktas stratocumulus, cumulonimbus 300—500 m, rain, visibility 6-10 km, wind 170—190° 30 km/h, thunderstorm conditions, moderate turbulence. For the landing point Kokchetav airport from 13:00 to 16:00 — 10 oktas middle, 6-9 oktas stratocumulus 200—300 m, rain, visibility 6-10 km, briefly 3-5 km, wind 50-70° 12-15 m/s gusting 18 m/s, light turbulence.

At 10:45 the crew decided to depart. The flight took place in favourable weather conditions. Landings were made at Chapayevo and Avangard airports. After landing at Avangard airport, at 13:40 the crew received an instruction from the local dispatch point (MDP) controller of Kokchetav airport to proceed to them directly, via the Donskoye reporting point, without landing in Shchuchinsk because of deteriorating weather there. The magnetic track of the route on the Avangard — Donskoye segment is 287°, after Donskoye — 272°.

Takeoff was made at 13:52. On board were 12 adult passengers and 1 child aged two. At 13:58 the crew established contact with the MDP controller of Kokchetav airport and reported the takeoff and flight at safe altitude. The controller instructed them to report passing Donskoye, and the crew acknowledged the instruction. At 14:18 the crew reported passing Donskoye and gave the estimated time of arrival at Kokchetav airport — 14:48. The controller instructed them to proceed at safe altitude and at a distance of 50 km to establish contact with the approach controller. After that the crew no longer made contact and did not respond to calls.

The aircraft was found the next day, at 08:45, 12.5 km south of the route, 6 km west of the settlement of Borovoye, in a forest on the slope of Mount Kokshe (Sinyukha), 947 m high, at the 850 m mark, destroyed and burnt out. Everyone on board was killed.

The main cause of the crash was the crew's violation of the requirements of NPP GA-71, which manifested itself in continuing the flight on encountering weather conditions not meeting VFR, failing to take measures to leave the area hazardous for flight by returning to the departure point or to an alternate airfield, and the crew's ignorance of their exact location.

Contributing causes were:

an inaccurate weather forecast for the flight route;

passive flight supervision on the part of the MDP controller;

the low level of organisation of flight work in the 303rd Flight Detachment, and of flights on local air routes and in aviation for the national economy in the Kokchetav Joint Aviation Detachment.