Aeroflot Flight 3603
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![]() An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-154 similar to the one that crashed | |
Accident | |
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Date | 17 November 1981 |
Summary | Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error |
Site | Noril'sk Airport, Noril'sk, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Union 69°17′37.68″N 87°18′2.52″E / 69.2938000°N 87.3007000°ECoordinates: 69°17′37.68″N 87°18′2.52″E / 69.2938000°N 87.3007000°E |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Tupolev Tu-154B-2 |
Operator | Aeroflot |
Registration | CCCP-85480 |
Flight origin | Krasnoyarsk Airport |
Destination | Noril'sk Airport |
Occupants | 167 |
Passengers | 160 |
Crew | 7 |
Fatalities | 99 |
Survivors | 68 |
Aeroflot Flight 3603 was a Tupolev Tu-154 operating a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Krasnoyarsk to Noril'sk, both in the Soviet Union, that crashed while attempting to land on 17 November 1981. Of the 167 passengers and crew on board, 99 were killed in the accident.[1]
Accident[]
It was dark and there was a low overcast with a cloud base of around 400 feet (120 m) when the Tupolev Tu-154 began its approach to Noril'sk Airport. The aircraft was about 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) above its calculated weight and its center of gravity was beyond the forward limit for the type. The nose heavy condition caused Flight 3603 to descend through the glide path as it made its final approach. Flight 3603's captain initiated a go-around maneuver but the jetliner struck a mound approximately 1,500 feet (460 m) short of the runway.[2] Four crew members plus 95 passengers were killed in the accident.[3]
Causes[]
The primary cause of the accident was the failure of the crew to accurately calculate the appropriate landing weight, failing to align with the runway at the proper approach speed, failing to abort the landing and go-around in time, and failing to maintain control of the auto-throttle.[4]
References[]
- ^ Aeroflot Flight 3603[usurped!]. Airdisaster.com
- ^ Gero, David (1996). Aviation Disasters Second Edition. Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 167.
- ^ Tupolev 154B-2 CCCP-85480 Noril'sk Airport. Aviation Safety Network
- ^ "✈ russianplanes.net ✈ наша авиация". russianplanes.net. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
- 1981 in the Soviet Union
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 1981
- Aviation accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
- Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain
- Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union
- Accidents and incidents involving the Tupolev Tu-154
- Aeroflot accidents and incidents
- November 1981 events in Europe