1961 Bogoroditsk Il-18 incident
| Industry | Aviation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1923 |
| Headquarters | Moscow , USSR |
| Products | Air transport services |
Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence
The 1961 Bogoroditsk Il-18 incident refers to an aviation accident that took place on Thursday, June 22, 1961, near Bogoroditsk in Tula Oblast, within the USSR. This event involved an Ilyushin Il-18B operated by Aeroflot. Remarkably, all 97 individuals aboard survived.
Aircraft
The Il-18B aircraft, registered as 75672 (factory number 189000901 and serial 009-01), was manufactured in 1959 at the Moscow Aircraft Production Association facility. Initially assigned to the General Directorate of Civil Air Fleet, it was subsequently transferred to Aeroflot’s Vnukovo Air Squadron under the Moscow Department of Transport Aviation. The airliner had a seating capacity of 80 passengers. Its maiden flight occurred on April 24, operating from Moscow Domodedovo to Alma-Ata.
Incident
On the day of the incident, the flight was en route from Moscow to Sochi. The crew included commander Boris Evgenievich Gratsianov, second pilot Yuri Nikolaevich Belkin, navigator Boris Anatolievich Andreev, flight mechanic Georgiy Dmitrievich Postribailo, and radio operator G. Y. Margulis. Notably, the pilots had limited experience with the Il-18: Gratsianov was undertaking his second flight as commander, while Belkin was on his first mission following retraining. The cabin crew comprised stewardesses Valentina Efimovna Zhuravleva, Nataliya Vasilyevna Pokhitonova, and Valentina Yurievna Smirnova. There were 89 passengers aboard.
After departing from Vnukovo Airport, the aircraft climbed to an altitude of 6100 meters. While flying over Tula Oblast, a fire warning was triggered for engine number three. The crew attempted to extinguish the fire using the onboard system; however, it failed to activate. At that time, flight manuals did not provide guidance for handling such a scenario. The closest airfield was the Yefremov air base, located approximately 9 km southeast of Yefremov, reachable within minutes. Nevertheless, the crew judged there was insufficient time to reach it and opted for an emergency descent aiming for a forced landing in nearby fields.
Prior to descending, they transmitted a final radio message: "Landing on field. Plane on fire. End of link," after which communication ceased.
During the emergency descent with active fire onboard, the Il-18 leveled off close to ground level. The crew shut down the remaining engines and executed a belly landing with landing gear retracted in an oat field within the Bogoroditsky District of Tula Oblast. The aircraft slid approximately 300 meters before coming to rest. Fire suppression was achieved swiftly, and all 97 occupants survived without injury.
Investigation revealed that the fire originated from a generator failure; fragments from this malfunction damaged an oil line causing oil leakage and subsequent ignition. The fire extinguishing system did not engage because its circuitry had been incorrectly wired during maintenance procedures.
In recognition of their bravery and resourcefulness during the crisis, all crew members received honors from the Kremlin: Commander Gratsianov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour; second pilot Belkin received the Order of Red Star; navigator Andreev and flight mechanic Postribailo were each granted the Order of Red Star; radio operator Margulis earned the Order of the Badge of Honor; and stewardesses Zhuravleva, Pokhitonova, and Smirnova were each bestowed with the Medal "For Distinguished Labour". Following repairs, the damaged aircraft was repurposed as a training platform at the Riga Civil Aviation Engineers Institute.
See also
- List of accidents and incidents involving the Ilyushin Il-18
- Aeroflot accidents and incidents in the 1960s
References
External links
- Detailed crash report at Aviation Safety Network