Aeroflot Flight A-13

Aeroflot

File:Aeroflot logo.svg Aeroflot logo
Company type	State airline
Industry	Aviation
Founded	1923
Headquarters	Moscow , Soviet Union
Area served	Domestic flights within the Soviet Union
Products	Passenger and cargo air transport

Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence

Aeroflot Flight A-13 (Russian: Рейс A-13 Аэрофлота Reys A-13 Aeroflota) was a scheduled domestic flight within the Soviet Union, operating from Baku, Azerbaijan to Fort-Shevchenko in Kazakhstan. On 18 August 1973, shortly after departure, the flight ended in tragedy when an engine failure forced an attempted return to the airport. During this maneuver, the aircraft struck an oil rig cable at a low altitude, causing a crash that resulted in 56 fatalities among the 64 individuals on board. This incident ranked as the second deadliest involving the Antonov An-24 model at that time and remains one of the most fatal aviation disasters in Azerbaijani history. The engine malfunction was attributed to blade performance degradation caused by prolonged overheating.

Aircraft

The airplane involved was an Antonov An-24B with registration CCCP-46435 operated by Aeroflot. Introduced in 1962, the Antonov An-24 is a twin-engine aircraft designed for medium-range passenger and cargo transport. The 'B' variant featured enhancements including increased seating capacity and modified flaps to improve aerodynamic efficiency. The specific aircraft, CCCP-46435, entered service in 1968 under the Azerbaijan Civil Aviation Administration. At the time of the accident, it had accumulated 7,374 flight hours and undergone 5,502 pressurization cycles.

Crew

The flight deck team comprised the following members:

• Captain: Nikolai Panchenko
• First Officer: Valentin Viktorovich Konokotin
• Flight Engineer: Anatoly Vasilyevich Zharov

Tamara Kazimagomedova fulfilled the role of flight attendant.

Accident

At 18:36 Moscow Time on 18 August 1973, aircraft CCCP-46435 departed from Baku-Bina International Airport, embarking on a roughly 300 miles (480 km) journey destined for Fort-Shevchenko in Kazakhstan. Weather conditions were clear, with visibility extending to ten kilometers and winds blowing from the north. The aircraft carried sixty passengers, including eleven minors, along with a crew of four who were operating their second flight that day. Shortly after lift-off, at an altitude of just 30 feet (9.1 m), the An-24 experienced an uncontained failure in its left engine. Upon reaching 90 feet (27 m), the pilots retracted the flaps and initiated a left turn at around 120 feet (37 m) altitude. During this maneuver, the left wingtip collided with a cable belonging to an oil rig situated in the Caspian Sea, resulting in the cable being severed. The aircraft then descended, impacting a pipeline before ultimately crashing near a highway at 18:51 Moscow Time. The tragedy resulted in 54 fatalities among those on board, while eight individuals—including both the captain and flight engineer—sustained serious injuries.

Conclusions

The crash investigation determined that the engine failure was caused by deterioration of the turbine blades due to persistent overheating. Contributing factors to this overheating included improper start-up procedures, inherent design deficiencies, and the inability to detect excessive temperatures through visual inspection or instrumentation. Additionally, it was found that the aircraft was overloaded by approximately 193 kilograms (425 pounds) beyond its maximum weight capacity.

See also

• Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217
• Azerbaijan Airlines Flight A-56
• Aeroflot Flight 3843
• Avensa Flight 358