Aeroflot Flight L-51

Aeroflot

Industry	Airline
Founded	1923
Headquarters	Soviet Union
Products	Passenger air transport

Template:Other uses Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence Aeroflot Flight L-51 was a domestic passenger service operated by an Antonov An-24 that crashed during its final approach to Liepāja International Airport on 30 December 1967. The tragedy resulted in 43 fatalities among the 51 individuals aboard, marking it as the most severe aviation incident in Latvia’s history. The subsequent investigation determined that pilot error was the primary cause of the crash.

Accident

Flight L-51 was operating a scheduled route from Riga to Liepāja. While on approach to Liepāja International Airport, the aircraft intercepted the glide slope at an altitude of 300 meters and a speed of 300 km/h, exceeding the advised parameters of 200 meters and 220 km/h. To reduce speed and altitude, the flight crew engaged reverse thrust; however, they soon initiated a missed approach procedure and attempted a go-around. During this maneuver, engine power was increased on both engines and both flaps and landing gear were retracted. The right engine transitioned to forward thrust as expected, but the left engine remained in reverse thrust mode. This asymmetry caused the aircraft to roll sharply to the left while losing altitude rapidly. The plane impacted terrain at zero degrees pitch approximately 250 meters left of the designated approach path in a snow-covered field. With landing gear retracted, the underside of the fuselage and the left propeller struck the ground before the aircraft briefly became airborne again, though significant vibration occurred in the left propeller. The airplane then traveled about 140 meters before colliding with a telephone pole, which severed three meters from the right wing along with part of its aileron. The aircraft yawed to the right and continued flying for an additional 1,270 meters while banking increasingly to the right until it crashed heavily at a bank angle of 48 degrees. Despite extensive destruction of the airframe, no fire broke out at the crash location.

Aircraft

File:Aeroflot L-51.jpg

Wreckage showing the aircraft's undercarriage

The aircraft involved was an Antonov An-24B, bearing serial number 67302909 and registered under CCCP-46215 with Aeroflot. This airliner was completed on 30 November 1966 and had accumulated a total flight time of 1,934 hours prior to the accident.

Investigation

Following a thorough investigation, authorities determined the sequence of factors that led to the crash. The aircraft approached the glide slope at an excessive speed and altitude. Contributing to the incident was the crew’s incorrect application of reverse thrust during flight, along with their failure to promptly disengage the left engine from beta thrust mode. Additionally, retracting the flaps and landing gear too early during the go-around maneuver played a significant role in causing the accident.

See also

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