Aeroflot Flight 773

Aeroflot Flight 773

Company type	Passenger flight
Industry	Aviation
Founded	10 October 1971
Fate	Destroyed by bomb explosion
Headquarters	Moscow , Soviet Union

Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence

Aeroflot Flight 773 was a domestic Soviet passenger service operating between Moscow and Simferopol that was destroyed by a bomb explosion on 10 October 1971.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Tupolev Tu-104B, bearing the registration CCCP-42490, operated by the Ukraine Civil Aviation Directorate under Aeroflot. Originally designed to accommodate 100 passengers, this model had been modified to carry up to 115. At the moment of the incident, it had accumulated 13,062 flight hours and completed 10,452 pressurization cycles.

Crew

The flight was staffed by seven crew members. The cockpit team included:

• Captain Konstantin Romanovich Klyushnik
• Co-pilot Anatoly Yefimovich Vorobevsky
• Navigator Vladimir Alekseevich Solodyannikov
• Flight engineer Valentin Alekseevich Bezrodny
• Radio operator Viktor Ivanovich Obedkov

The cabin crew consisted of two flight attendants: Svetlana Vladimirovna Papushina and Boris Nesterovich Marchenko.

Additionally, a policeman was present on board but was classified as a passenger in official records.

Accident Sequence

The aircraft arrived from Simferopol to Moscow at 19:02 and was then readied for the return flight to Simferopol. Weather conditions at departure were characterized by overcast skies with low cloud cover and visibility of approximately 6 kilometers. Flight 773 departed Vnukovo Airport at 20:16. Thirty-one seconds later, the crew reported to air traffic control (ATC) that they were en route to Chornaya Gryaz. The controller instructed them to ascend to an altitude of 1,500 m (4,900 ft). At 20:16:44, ATC attempted to confirm whether Flight 773 had reached 1,200 m (3,900 ft), but received no reply. Multiple contact attempts by ATC failed.

Immediately after reporting takeoff, an explosion occurred onboard, severely damaging the left fuselage side and wing supports while cutting control cables linked to the tail section. This caused the aircraft to bank sharply right and descend rapidly. Approximately seven kilometers from Vnukovo Airport at an altitude between 150–200 m (490–660 ft), the cargo compartment gave way, ejecting some passenger seats. Roughly 2,700 m (8,900 ft) further along its path, the aircraft impacted terrain at speeds between 550–600 km/h (340–370 mph), descending at an angle of 10–14° while in a full right bank near Baranovo village in Naro-Fominsky District, around 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Vnukovo Airport. All twenty-five occupants perished, including the actress Raisa Zvereva.

Investigation

The inquiry revealed that debris detached from the plane prior to the crash exhibited evidence of fire damage. Traces of TNT were discovered among the wreckage. The findings determined that the detonation was caused by an explosive device situated in the baggage hold; however, subsequent information indicated that a bomb containing between 400 and 800 grams of TNT had been placed in a piece of hand luggage on the cabin floor, likely beneath seat 45. The investigation concluded in 1973 without identifying the individual responsible for planting the bomb.

External links

• Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network