Aeroflot Flight 2415

Aeroflot-Russian Airlines

Industry	Airline
Headquarters	Moscow , Soviet Union
Products	Passenger air transport

Aeroflot Flight 2415 was a scheduled passenger service operating between Moscow and Leningrad that tragically crashed shortly after departure on 28 November 1976. The accident was caused by pilot disorientation due to the failure of the artificial horizon instrument under conditions of poor visibility.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Tupolev Tu-104B bearing the registration CCCP-42471, operated by Aeroflot-Russian Airlines. Manufactured at the Kazan Aircraft Production plant, it rolled off the production line on 22 February 1960 and was handed over to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 24 March 1960. Over its sixteen years in service, the plane logged a total of 22,199 flight hours and underwent 13,336 pressurization cycles.

Crew and passengers

The flight carried six crew members, including four in the cockpit and two cabin attendants.

The cockpit team consisted of:

• Captain Boris Nikolaevich Gorokhovsky (Russian: Борис Николаевич Гороховский), serving as pilot in command
• Co-pilot Igor Borisovich Nikolaev (Russian: Игорь Борисович Николаев)
• Navigator Vladimir Viktorovich Gusev (Russian: Владимир Викторович Гусев)
• Flight engineer Vladimir Grigorevich Vasiliev (Russian: Владимир Григорьевич Васильев)

Alongside the crew, there were 67 passengers aboard, predominantly from the Soviet Union, with one individual each from Czechoslovakia and East Germany.

Sequence of events

File:Мемориал экипажу Ту-104 борт СССР-42471 (1).JPG

Memorial to the crew of flight 2415

Flight 2415 departed from Moscow-Sheremetyevo International Airport at 6:53 local time despite adverse weather conditions. Onboard were six crew members and 67 passengers, including four children. Weather forecasts predicted cloud cover restricting visibility to a maximum of 1,500 metres (1.5 km; 0.93 mi), accompanied by light winds.

The aircraft lifted off at a safe speed of approximately 290 kilometres per hour (160 kn; 180 mph). After takeoff, engine thrust was reduced and the pilots contacted air traffic control for further instructions. They were directed to proceed on a heading of 265°, which they initiated by banking right using the ailerons. However, after reaching the intended heading, the plane continued banking right uncontrollably, descending rapidly while accelerating into a steep dive. The aircraft impacted terrain roughly 9.5 kilometres (5.9 mi; 5.1 nmi) from the airport, resulting in an explosion that claimed the lives of all passengers and crew onboard.

Causes

The board of the State Supervisory Commission for Flight Safety identified several factors contributing to the accident, including the malfunction of the artificial horizon, limited cockpit visibility, and the absence of alerts signaling the artificial horizon's failure. Due to extensive damage sustained by the aircraft during the crash, it was not feasible to verify whether the ailerons were operational at that moment. Both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorders lacked data from the final six seconds, likely lost because of destruction caused by the post-crash fire. The commission recognized the crew's composed response in managing the emergency while relying on erroneous aircraft information; weather conditions were not considered a significant factor in causing the crash. One board member, Markov, dissented from the official conclusions, attributing the accident to pilot error; however, his opinion was overruled by Gosavianadzor, which aligned with the majority report.

See also

• Aeroflot Flight 964, another Tupolev Tu-104 that crashed during approach following a similar artificial horizon malfunction.
• Aeroflot Flight 3932, a Tupolev Tu-104 that went down shortly after takeoff due to comparable artificial horizon failure.
• Aeroflot Flight 1912, an additional Tupolev Tu-104 incident linked to analogous instrument malfunction.