Aeroflot Flight 03

Aeroflot

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

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Aeroflot Flight 03 was operating a passenger service from Vnukovo Airport to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport, with a scheduled stop at Khabarovsk Airport. On September 3, 1962, the Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104 encountered uncontrollable vibrations in the airframe, causing the plane to roll and yaw multiple times at approximately 4,500 meters altitude before ultimately crashing. The wreckage was found in a swamp roughly 90 kilometers from Khabarovsk. This accident marked the deadliest aviation disaster in Soviet history up to that point.

Aircraft

The airplane involved was a Tupolev Tu-104A powered by two Mikulin AM-3M engines, bearing the registration CCCP-42366 under Aeroflot. Manufactured at the Omsk plant, it was delivered to Aeroflot’s Khabarovsk Far East Civil Aviation Directorate on September 27, 1958. Although the cabin was equipped with 70 seats, it carried 79 passengers on this flight. At the time of the crash, the aircraft had accumulated 4,426 flight hours and undergone 1,760 pressurization cycles.

Passengers and crew

The flight carried a total of 79 passengers: 58 adults and 21 children. Additionally, seven crew members were on board. The cockpit team included:

• Captain Petr Vasilievich Marsakov – pilot in command
• Co-Pilot Viktor Mikhailovich Gritsenko
• Navigator Vasily Petrovich Zalavsky
• Flight Engineer Yuri Ivanovich Gusynin
• Radio Operator Oleg Stepanovich Morozov
• Flight Attendants Myla Filippovna Savenko and Evdokia Fedorovna Kozhaeva

Description of accident

The flight was en route from Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, with a scheduled stop at Khabarovsk. Along the planned path, mild stratocumulus clouds were observed. At Khabarovsk airport, a stratified cloud layer approximately 60-meter (200 ft) thick was present, and visibility extended up to 20 kilometres (12 mi; 11 nmi), conditions deemed suitable for the journey. Flight 03 departed Khabarovsk on 3 September at 04:32 local time (21:32 on 2 September Moscow time). The air traffic controller directed the crew to follow the established Troitskoe corridor. While maintaining an altitude of 4,000 metres (13,000 ft), the aircraft lost radio contact with Khabarovsk air traffic control but continued along its assigned route. At 21:39 local time, the pilot switched to another controller and, upon receiving clearance, began climbing to an altitude of 8,000 metres (26,000 ft).

At around 4,500 meters altitude, roughly one minute and thirty-seven seconds after the last communication with air traffic control, the aircraft encountered control issues. The crew reported abrupt wing rolls; Captain Marsakov twice urged air traffic control with the phrase "throw it away!" followed by warnings of severe shaking and strong wing movements. The plane vanished from radar screens 36 seconds later. An Antonov An-10 (registration CCCP-11195), flying about four minutes behind, witnessed a red flash within the clouds that gradually faded. At 04:42, the aircraft impacted a swampy area in Nanaysky District, approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi; 8.1 nmi) from Kuruna village. The crash created a crater and dispersed debris over an area measuring 200 by 70 by 80 metres (660 by 230 by 260 ft). All passengers and crew perished in the accident.

Cause

While no definitive cause for the crash was established, it was suggested that utilizing autopilot might have mitigated some control challenges.

The investigative commission concluded:Template:Quote

The civil investigation team was denied access to classified materials marked as "Military Secret," which has fueled speculation that the plane might have been inadvertently struck by a surface-to-air missile launched from the Litovko military base.

See also

• Aeroflot Flight 902