1950 Karaganda Ilyushin Il-12 crash

Aeroflot

Industry	Aviation
Founded	1923
Headquarters	Moscow , Soviet Union
Products	Air transport services

Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence

The 1950 Karaganda Il-12 disaster involved an Ilyushin Il-12 operated by Aeroflot that crashed on 30 July 1950 near Karaganda, resulting in the loss of all 25 individuals aboard.

Aircraft

The Il-12P bearing tail number CCCP-Л1803 (factory number 93013302, serial number 33-02) was produced by MMZ "Znamya Truda" on 31 March 1949. It was assigned to the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet and subsequently allocated to the Kazakh Directorate’s 25th Transport Aviation Detachment. At the time of the accident, this aircraft had logged a total of 953 flight hours.

Accident

Operating a passenger service originating from Alma-Ata, the flight was commanded by Captain Vasily Alexandrovich Alexandrov, with co-pilot Nikolay Alexandrovich Fedulov, navigator Boris Yuryevich Kobets, flight engineer Ivan Vasilyevich Tregubov, and radio operator Anatoliy Petrovich Gerasimov. Additionally, a flight attendant named Koptseva was present. The Il-12 made a scheduled refueling stop at Karaganda Airport at 04:50 and departed again at 05:36, heading on a magnetic course of 210°. There were 19 passengers aboard. Weather conditions were favorable with clear skies interspersed with scattered stratocumulus clouds and visibility around 30 kilometers.

Upon reaching an altitude of approximately 150 meters, the crew initiated a right turn to a heading of 285°. Observers noted that at about 05:38, the left engine emitted a backfire. By 05:42, the crew informed air traffic control that the left engine had failed and they planned to return to Karaganda Airport. Clearance was granted for a direct approach on heading 30°. Subsequently, the aircraft turned right to heading 110° en route to the airport. A grain elevator standing 67 meters tall obstructed their path, prompting a course adjustment to the right and flying at an angle of approximately 80° relative to the runway’s extended centerline. At this point, the plane maintained an altitude near 100 meters with a right bank and slight tail drift.

While crossing over the extended runway centerline between 50 and 70 meters altitude, the captain began leveling from the right bank by initiating a left turn and deployed the landing gear. Suddenly, the Il-12 sharply banked leftward, lost airspeed, and entered into a spin. At approximately 05:44, it impacted the ground with its right wing and engine at an angle near 60°, causing an explosion that resulted in total fatalities among all occupants.

Investigation

The inquiry determined that on 27 July, the aircraft underwent its scheduled 100-hour maintenance at the Almaty facility. Two days later, on 29 July, the same flight crew conducted a test flight. Prior to departure, the left engine had ceased operation but was promptly restarted. Nevertheless, the crew did not disclose this mechanical malfunction. The underlying cause of the engine stoppage was not examined.

The commission concluded that the accident resulted from several factors:

• An unexplained failure of the left engine.
• Inadequate flight operation management at Karaganda Airport.
• Pilot error stemming from the captain's insufficient training for handling a single-engine scenario (including turning towards the failed engine and extending the landing gear).

The report noted that the captain made an appropriate choice by deciding to land straight ahead. However, when air traffic control authorized landing on a heading of 30°, it introduced confusion that substantially aggravated the situation. Additionally, considering Karaganda airfield’s expansive size, straightforward approach paths, and favorable weather, a safe landing on one operational engine should have been feasible. Other contributing elements were the absence of competent support from the airport commander—who delegated flight control responsibilities to an inadequately trained dispatcher—and deficient maintenance oversight, highlighted by the undisclosed engine failure prior to the test flight.