Aeroflot Flight 036

Aeroflot

Industry	Airline
Founded	1923
Headquarters	Moscow , Soviet Union

Aeroflot Flight 036 was a scheduled passenger service operated by Aeroflot between Cairo International Airport and Bykovo Airport. On 17 August 1960, the Ilyushin Il-18 conducting this flight crashed following an engine fire. The accident resulted in the deaths of all 27 passengers and seven crew members on board.

The investigation by the Air Accident Investigation Commission concluded that the accident was caused by a fuel injector leaking externally.

Accident

While cruising, Flight 036 had just passed the Codra waypoint near Kiev when, at 15:52, the flight crew informed air traffic control (ATC) that they had feathered the propeller on engine No. 4 and requested an emergency landing at Boryspil International Airport. Five minutes later, at 15:57, the crew reported that engine No. 4 and the right wing were ablaze. ATC advised diverting to Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany), which was closer. Shortly after, at approximately 15:57:30, the crew transmitted their final message: "We're falling, falling, goodbye, falling, falling, falling ...". The aircraft crashed roughly 41 kilometers north of Kyiv International Airport with no survivors.

Aircraft

The involved Il-18B, bearing serial number 189001702 017-02, was manufactured in 1959 at the Moscow Banner of Labor factory and subsequently assigned to civil aviation service. It was equipped with four Ivchenko AI-20 turboprop engines. At the time of the incident, the aircraft had accumulated a total of 407 flight hours and completed 117 takeoff and landing cycles.

Investigation

Throughout the duration of the inquiry, all Il-18 aircraft across the Soviet Union were grounded. Investigators recovered a section of the right wing along with engines No. 1 and No. 4 located some distance from the primary crash location. After an eight-month investigation, the Air Accident Investigation Commission concluded that engine No. 4 separated from the right wing as a result of fire damage to its supporting structure. This incident caused the fuel tanks within the right wing to rupture, leading to a fireball that destroyed the entire right wing. The plane then entered an uncontrolled descent, during which engine No. 1 also detached from its wing. With no control and landing gear and flaps extended, the aircraft ultimately crashed near Tarasovichi, approximately 41 kilometers north of Kyiv International Airport.

The Commission determined that fuel leakage originated from the number seven fuel injector of engine No. 4, which allowed fuel to accumulate inside the engine nacelle. This fuel ignited upon contact with high-temperature components. A contributing element to the disaster was identified as the absence of an engine fire extinguishing system.

Following this incident and subsequent investigation, several modifications were made to the Il-18's engines. A fire suppression system was introduced, designed to spray flame retardant directly onto the rear support of the engines. Additionally, the construction of engine firewalls was upgraded to titanium, and plumbing materials were replaced with steel instead of aluminum alloy.

See also

• Aeroflot accidents and incidents
• Aeroflot accidents and incidents in the 1960s