Aeroflot Flight 3519

Aeroflot

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

Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence

Aeroflot Flight 3519 was a Tupolev Tu-154B-2 operated scheduled flight that crashed on December 23, 1984, following an engine malfunction. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of 110 individuals, with only one passenger surviving.

Flight Crew

• Captain: Viktor Semyonovich Falkov
• First Officer: Yury Petrovich Belavin
• Flight Engineer: Andrei Vasilievich Resnitsky
• Navigator: Gennady Leonidovich Ozerov
• Flight Attendants: Elena Borisovna Golikova, Marina Stepanovna Ulyankina, Natalya Petrovna Kolpakova

Accident Overview

At 2:08 p.m. KRAT (UTC+7) on December 23, 1984, Aeroflot Flight 3519 departed from Krasnoyarsk Airport en route to Irkutsk Airport, covering approximately 879 kilometres (546 mi). Weather conditions were clear with good visibility. After takeoff, the aircraft climbed to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) before receiving clearance from air traffic control to ascend to 5,700 metres (18,700 ft). Shortly after—precisely two minutes and one second into the flight—while traveling at 480 kilometres per hour (300 mph) and reaching an altitude of 2,040 metres (6,690 ft), the starboard (No. 3) engine suffered a catastrophic failure due to a metallurgical and manufacturing defect in the first stage low-pressure compressor disk, which ignited an engine fire.

In response, the flight engineer mistakenly shut down the center (No. 2) engine but recognized this error ten seconds later and attempted to restart it. The crew initiated a turn back toward Krasnoyarsk Airport for an emergency landing. They shut down the No. 3 engine and discharged onboard fire extinguishing bottles; however, these efforts were unsuccessful. Unexpectedly, the No. 2 engine accelerated to takeoff speed uncontrollably and could not be regulated via power levers. Although the crew managed to shut down this engine, its fuel valve remained open.

The fire originating from the No. 3 engine spread rapidly to the pylon and rear auxiliary power unit compartment, eventually engulfing the No. 2 engine as well. This extensive fire compromised the aircraft’s electrical systems, causing voltage drops and hydraulic failures.

As Flight 3519 approached Krasnoyarsk Airport’s outer marker, it was descending at 10 metres per second (33 ft/s), flying at an altitude of 175 metres (574 ft) with a speed of 420 kilometres per hour (260 mph). Due to severe fire damage leaving only one operational engine, the pilots lost control as the aircraft banked sharply right and impacted the runway at approximately a 50-degree angle at 2:15 p.m., roughly four minutes and thirty seconds after the initial fire began.

Out of all aboard, only one passenger—a 27-year-old man—survived despite sustaining serious injuries. The remaining 110 occupants perished in the crash, which destroyed and partially incinerated the airplane.

Technical data and statistics

The aircraft's maiden flight took place in 1979.

At the moment of departure and during the accident, weather conditions were stable, featuring visibility exceeding 3,500 metres (11,500 ft), minimal cloud cover, and a temperature around −18 °C (0 °F). Meteorological factors were not contributory to the incident.

Among the 104 passengers on board, five were children. The flight crew consisted of seven members. Out of the total 111 individuals on the plane, all seven crew members and 103 passengers lost their lives in the crash. There were no injuries or fatalities reported on the ground.

See also

• List of aviation accidents and incidents with a sole survivor