# Aeroflot accidents and incidents in the 1990s

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 (1991-12), its former republics started establishing their own carriers from the corresponding directorates Aeroflot had at these countries, causing the airline to shrink drastically. The fleet reduced from several thousand aircraft to a number slightly over 100 in 1993, helping the former Soviet Union's national airline to improve its accidents and incidents record sharply. The company experienced 42 events between 1990 and 1991 only, and had 41 occurrences in the rest of the decade. Despite this, the three deadliest accidents the airline went through in the decade occurred in the post-Soviet era, leaving a death toll of 257, each one involving more than 50 fatalities.
The worst accident involved a Tupolev Tu-134A that contacted trees on approach to Ivanovo Airport in August 1992 (1992-08), crashing and killing all 84 passengers and crew on board. The most infamous crash and the second worst accident for the company in the decade occurred in March 1994 (1994-03) when an Airbus A310 that was flying the Moscow–Hong Kong route crashed in the Kemerovo Oblast shortly after the captain's son manipulated the controls of the aircraft, with the loss of 75 lives.
Overall, 525 people lost their lives either on board Aeroflot aircraft or on the ground. The number of aircraft the airline wrote off during the decade fell to 71, split into an Airbus A310-300, two Antonov An-12s, an Antonov An-124, 20 Antonov An-2s, five Antonov An-24s, two Antonov An-26s, five Antonov An-28s, two Ilyushin Il-14s, four Ilyushin Il-62s, two Ilyushin Il-76s, two Ilyushin Il-86s, five Let L-410s, six Tupolev Tu-134s, six Tupolev Tu-154s, seven Yakovlev Yak-40s and a Yakovlev Yak-42.
Following is a list of the accidents and incidents Aeroflot experienced during the decade.

## List

| Date | Location | Aircraft | Tail number | Airline division | Aircraft damage | Fatalities | Description | Refs |
| 1990 | Un­known | An-2P | CCCP-07308 | Krasnoyarsk | W/O | 5/5 | Mid-air collision. | |
| 13 January 1990 | Pervouralsk | Tu-134A | CCCP-65951 | North Caucasus | W/O | 27/71 | The aircraft was en route a domestic scheduled Tyumen–Ufa passenger service as Flight 6246 at 10,600 metres (34,800 ft) when smoke in the rear cargo hold prompted a fire warning in both engines, probably due to a short circuit of the electrical wiring. The flightcrew made an emergency descent, and the airplane force landed on snowy fields, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi; 1.6 nmi) away from Pervouralsk. | $^{:33}$ |
| 20 February 1990 | Šiauliai | An-2R | CCCP-56472 | Lithuania | W/O | Un­known | Crashed. | |
| 16 March 1990 | Chita Airport | An-28 | CCCP-28702 | East Siberia | W/O | 0 | During the approach, the aircraft landed hard due to pilot error, damaging the landing gear. The crew performed a go-around and landed on the damaged landing gear. The aircraft, operating a training flight out of Chita, was written off. | |
| 27 March 1990 | Kabul | Il-76MD | CCCP-78781 | Uzbekistan | W/O | 11/11 | The aircraft, on loan from the Soviet Air Force, was operating a Kokand-Kabul cargo service. At 5,400 metres (17,700 ft), while on approach to Kabul, air traffic control ordered the pilot to discontinue the approach. The flaps and landing gear were retracted, yet the approach was continued. The aircraft stalled and crashed. | [13] [14] |
| 13 April 1990 | Uelen | An-2T | CCCP-04355 | Magadan | W/O | 1/6 | During takeoff, the aircraft pitched up, lost airspeed, stalled and crashed on the snow-covered, frozen Uelen Lagoon. The aircraft was overloaded, causing the center of gravity to move beyond limits. The aircraft was operating a Uelen–Provideniya cargo service in support of the "Great Circle" international expedition. | |
| 2 June 1990 | Kenkiyak | An-24B | CCCP-46551 | North Caucasus | W/O | 0/33 | A hard landing caused the nosegear to break up. The aircraft overran the runway and was destroyed by fire. | |
| 12 June 1990 | Kabul | Il-76MD | CCCP-86905 | Uzbekistan | W/O | 0/10 | Forced landing at Kabul Airport, after it was struck by a missile at 25,500 feet (7,800 m). | |
| 26 June 1990 | Shurma | An-2R | CCCP-19730 | Ural | W/O | 3/3 | The aircraft was returning from crop-spraying at Malmyzh when the pilots, who were drunk, performed stunts at low altitude. The aircraft was "hopping" over trees when it lost airspeed, banked, crashed in a forest and caught fire. | |
| 1 July 1990 | Yakutsk | Il-62M | CCCP-86456 | Moscow | W/O | 0/109 | Overran the runway upon landing at Yakutsk Airport. After touching down, the pilots accidentally set engines one and four to takeoff thrust rather than reverse thrust and the aircraft picked up speed as a result. The pilots did not realize their mistake and attempted emergency braking, but this blew out all landing gear tires. As speed increased the crew shut down all four engines, but too late, as there was not enough runway length to stop. The aircraft overran at 200 km/h (108 kn; 124 mph) and rolled another 397 metres (1,302 ft) before stopping. The landing gear collapsed and the fuselage broke in three. The aircraft was completing a Moscow–Yakutsk passenger service as Flight 93. | |
| 19 July 1990 | Un­known | An-2 | CCCP-40861 | Yakut | W/O | Un­known | Crashed into mountainous terrain. | |
| 1 August 1990 | Aghdam | Yak-40 | CCCP-87453 | Armenia | W/O | 46/46 | Struck a mountain at 2,520 metres (8,270 ft) in cloudy conditions, 22 kilometres (14 mi; 12 nmi) west of Stepanakert, during approach to Stepanakert Airport inbound from Yerevan as Flight E-35D. | $^{:34}$ |
| 12 August 1990 | Un­known | An-2 | CCCP-62407 | Yakut | W/O | Un­known | Crashed in a forest. | |
| 18 August 1990 | Rushan | An-28 | CCCP-28761 | Tajikistan | W/O | 0 | Hard landing short of the runway. | |
| 9 September 1990 | Pavlodar | Yak-40 | CCCP-87451 | Kazakhstan | W/O | 0 | CCCP-87914 ran off the runway upon landing at Pavlodar Airport, and collided with CCCP-87451, breaking it up. | [24] [25] |
| 9 September 1990 | Pavlodar | Yak-40K | CCCP-87914 | Kazakhstan | W/O | 0/22 | CCCP-87914 ran off the runway upon landing at Pavlodar Airport, and collided with CCCP-87451, breaking it up. | [24] [25] |
| 12 September 1990 | Rushan | Il-14LIK-1 | CCCP-41803 | Central | W/O | 0 | Belly-landed on a glacier, 353 kilometres (219 mi) off Mirny Ice Station. | |
| 14 September 1990 | Sverdlovsk | Yak-42 | CCCP-42351 | North Caucasus | W/O | 4/129 | The pilot intentionally deviated from the approach pattern. As a result, the aircraft broke up after it struck trees on approach to Koltsovo Airport, inbound from Volgograd on a domestic scheduled passenger service as Flight 8175. | $^{:34}$ |
| 12 October 1990 | Odessa | L-410UVP | CCCP-67331 | Ukraine | W/O | 0/15 | Hard landing at Odesa Airport. | |
| 20 October 1990 | Kutaisi | Tu-154B-1 | CCCP-85268 | Georgia | W/O | 0/171 | The aircraft failed to get airborne on takeoff from Kutaisi Airport due to overloading, overrunning the runway. | |
| 2 November 1990 | Nyurba | An-26B | CCCP-26038 | East Siberia | W/O | Un­known | Crashed upon landing. | |
| 17 November 1990 | Velichovky | Tu-154M | CCCP-85664 | International | W/O | 0/6 | The aircraft was flying a Euroairport–Sheremetyevo cargo service, when a fire broke out at 10,600 metres (34,800 ft), prompting the flightcrew to make an emergency landing. | |
| 21 November 1990 | Magan Airport | Il-62 | CCCP-86613 | Domodedovo | W/O | 0/189 | While en route to Yakutsk the crew were informed that visibility was poor at Yakutsk Airport. The crew considered diverting to Khabarovsk, but visibility improved at Yakutsk. While descending to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft), ATC reported that visibility at Yakutsk had dropped again. The crew diverted to Magan Airport and continued descending. The aircraft touched down halfway down the runway. Realizing that the aircraft would overrun the runway, the crew extended the spoilers and braked hard; just before the end of the runway the pilot ordered the engines to be shut down. The aircraft ran off the runway and steered right to avoid the localizer building. The landing gear was ripped off as the aircraft crossed a dirt road and the aircraft then finally came to rest at a snow-covered ravine. The aircraft was completing a domestic scheduled Moscow–Yakutsk passenger service as Flight 95. | |
| 30 November 1990 | Dikson Airport | Yak-40K | CCCP-87394 | Krasnoyarsk | W/O | 0/35 | The aircraft came in too high in bad weather. Touching down at high speed, the aircraft overran the runway and ended up in a gully. The aircraft was completing a domestic scheduled Krasnoyarsk–Dikson passenger service. | |
| 14 December 1990 | Shakhtersk Airport | An-24B | CCCP-47164 | Far East | W/O | 0/43 | Undershot the runway and landed hard. | |
| 4 March 1991 | Leningrad | An-24 | Un­known | Un­known | Minor | 1/26 | While en route from Kotlas to Leningrad, the aircraft was hijacked by a male hijacker who demanded to be taken to Sweden. At Pulkovo Airport, the hijacker released the hostages, but refused to surrender. The grenade he carried with him exploded; he later died from the injuries he received. | |
| 23 March 1991 | Navoiy | An-24RV | CCCP-46472 | Uzbekistan | W/O | 34/63 | Overran the runway on landing at Navoi Airport, hitting a heap of iron and concrete, breaking up and catching fire. | [36] [37] |
| 23 May 1991 | Leningrad | Tu-154B-1 | CCCP-85097 | Leningrad | W/O | 15/178 | Hard landing short of the runway at Pulkovo Airport. The main starboard undercarriage collapsed, causing the break up of the airframe. Two people were killed on the ground. The aircraft was operating a Sukhumi-St. Petersburg service as Flight 8556. | |
| 24 June 1991 | Radolnoye | An-2R | CCCP-31423 | Latvia | W/O | 3/3 | Destroyed by fire after crashing in the Ural region, within the Kazakh SSR territory. | |
| 25 June 1991 | Rakovka | An-2 | Un­known | Un­known | W/O | 3/3 | Control was lost and the aircraft crashed. | |
| 21 August 1991 | Poliny Osipenko | L-410UVP | CCCP-67091 | Far East | W/O | 0/14 | Sank back on takeoff while the landing gear was being retracted. | |
| 27 August 1991 | Guriev | L-410UVP | CCCP-67099 | Kazakhstan | W/O | 0/6 | Forced landing, 42 kilometres (26 mi) out of Guriev (now Atyrau) after running out of fuel. The fuel filler ports had been left open following refueling at Guriev. | |
| 27 September 1991 | Magadan | L-410UVP | CCCP-67538 | Yakut | W/O | 0 | Premature retraction of the landing gear, during the takeoff run at Magadan Airport. | |
| 3 October 1991 | Cazombo Airport | An-12BP | CCCP-11120 | International | W/O | 0 | While landing, the wings struck some bushes as the runway was too short and too narrow. The crew found out the airfield was mined; they decided to take off again, but while turning for takeoff the right-side landing gear broke after it got stuck in a pothole, causing the propellers to contact the ground. The aircraft was to be repaired some time later (engines, propellers and technicians were brought over), but the fuselage was severely corroded by then, so the aircraft, which was operating a Lobito–Luena–Cazombo cargo service, was written off instead. | |
| 23 October 1991 | Shelopugino | An-28 | CCCP-28924 | East Siberia | W/O | 0/13 | Hard landing. | |
| 7 November 1991 | Makhachkala | Yak-40 | CCCP-87526 | North Caucasus | W/O | 51/51 | While descending for Makhachkala, visibility worsened. The crew were not aware of the aircraft's position and descended over mountainous terrain. The aircraft crashed into Kukurtbash Mountain at 550 metres (1,800 ft), 23 kilometres (14 mi; 12 nmi) away from Makhachkala. The aircraft was operating an Elista-Makhachkala service as Flight S-519. The aircraft was overloaded. | |
| 8 November 1991 | Batagay | An-2T | CCCP-79948 | Yakut | W/O | 0/0 | Destroyed by fire while undergoing engine repairs. | |
| 21 November 1991 | Khodzavend | Yak-40 | Un­known | Azerbaijan | W/O | 20 | Crashed en route under unspecified circumstances. | |
| 22 November 1991 | Yartsevo | An-2TP | CCCP-40596 | Krasnoyarsk | W/O | 0 | Force-landed due to engine failure caused by carburetor icing while flying at 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). The aircraft was operating a Podkamennaya Tunguska–Yenseisk passenger service. | |
| 23 November 1991 | KS-7 Airstrip | An-2R | CCCP-81545 | Uzbekistan | W/O | 2/4 | The aircraft was operating a Kungrad–Komsomolsk-na-Ustyurte–Karakalpakiya service. On board the leg to KS-7 Airstrip were two unauthorized passengers. En route the crew encountered low visibility and poor weather. The crew deviated from the approach pattern and struck a 52-metre-tall (171 ft) drill tower. The aircraft crashed and burned out. | |
| 26 November 1991 | Bugulma | An-24RV | CCCP-47823 | Privolzhsk | W/O | 42/42 | Crashed 800 metres (2,600 ft) out of Bugulma Airport, on approach, following an aborted go-around, likely because of icing on the stabilizer. | [48] [51] |
| 8 December 1991 | Un­known | An-2T | CCCP-33137 | Yakut | W/O | Un­known | Landed on rough terrain. | |
| Dissolution of the Soviet Union |||||||||
| 30 December 1991 | Velsk Airport | Yak-40 | CCCP-87521 | Arkhangelsk | W/O | 0/25 | After lifting off the runway, the right wing hit the ground. The aircraft struck a tree and then crashed in an embankment and caught fire. The aircraft was overloaded and the takeoff was attempted in poor weather with blowing snow and cross winds. | |
| 3 January 1992 | Lyakhsh | An-28 | CCCP-28706 | Tajikistan | W/O | 0 | Undershot the runway on landing. | |
| 24 January 1992 | Batumi | Tu-134A | CCCP-65053 | Georgia | W/O | 0 | Overran the runway on landing at Chorokh Airport. | |
| 9 February 1992 | Atyrau | An-24B | CCCP-46816 | Kazakhstan | W/O | 0/49 | Shortly after takeoff from Guryev Airport, an engine failed at 900 metres (3,000 ft) and the aircraft turned around, but to perform a missed approach. Airspeed was lost in icing conditions and the aircraft went into a 6 metres per second (20 ft/s) descent, landed, and slid 418 metres (1,371 ft) on its belly and partially retracted landing gear. | |
| 7 June 1992 | Moscow | Tu-154 | Un­known | Russian International Airlines | None | 1/115 | The aircraft was hijacked while en route from Grozny to Moscow. The hijacker, who demanded to be taken to Turkey, was killed by security forces at Vnukovo Airport. | |
| 19 June 1992 | Bratsk Airport | Tu-154B-1 | CCCP-85282 | Ural | W/O | 0/0 | CCCP-85234 was operating a Vladivostok-Samara service as Flight 5308 and had landed at Bratsk to refuel, but was grounded by maintenance issues and everyone left the aircraft. That night, CCCP-85282, operating a Ekaterinburg-Vladivostok service as Flight 2889, also stopped at Bratsk to refuel. Ten passengers remained on board CCCP-85282 with the pilot's permission while the remaining 120 left the aircraft and went to the terminal. Refueling of CCCP-85282 began, but the hose disconnected from the tanker. Fuel poured out onto the pump's engine, starting a fire. The engines could not be shut off and fuel continued to pour out onto the apron. Minutes later, CCCP-85282 caught fire, followed by CCCP-85234. Both aircraft burned out, but the 11 on board CCCP-85282 were able to escape. The truck driver drove the burning tankers away from the scene, but he had suffered severe burn injuries and did not survive. The hose disconnected due to errors by the operator, who was drunk. | [58] [59] |
| 19 June 1992 | Bratsk Airport | Tu-154B-1 | CCCP-85234 | Privolzhsk | W/O | 0/0 | CCCP-85234 was operating a Vladivostok-Samara service as Flight 5308 and had landed at Bratsk to refuel, but was grounded by maintenance issues and everyone left the aircraft. That night, CCCP-85282, operating a Ekaterinburg-Vladivostok service as Flight 2889, also stopped at Bratsk to refuel. Ten passengers remained on board CCCP-85282 with the pilot's permission while the remaining 120 left the aircraft and went to the terminal. Refueling of CCCP-85282 began, but the hose disconnected from the tanker. Fuel poured out onto the pump's engine, starting a fire. The engines could not be shut off and fuel continued to pour out onto the apron. Minutes later, CCCP-85282 caught fire, followed by CCCP-85234. Both aircraft burned out, but the 11 on board CCCP-85282 were able to escape. The truck driver drove the burning tankers away from the scene, but he had suffered severe burn injuries and did not survive. The hose disconnected due to errors by the operator, who was drunk. | [58] [59] |
| 21 June 1992 | Poltavskiy | An-2R | CCCP-32544 | Kazakhstan | W/O | Un­known | Un­known | |
| 8 July 1992 | Ukrainsky | An-2R | CCCP-07816 | Central | W/O | Un­known | Crashed. | |
| 23 August 1992 | Zurich | Tu-154M | CCCP-85670 | Russian International Airlines | Repaired | 0/145 | The aircraft was completing a non-scheduled international Milan–Zurich passenger service as Flight 2267. The approach to Zurich Airport was abandoned due to inclement weather, and one of the wings struck an antenna. The crew managed to land the airplane safely. | |
| 27 August 1992 | Ivanovo | Tu-134A | CCCP-65058 | Central | W/O | 84/84 | The aircraft was completing a scheduled Donetsk–Ivanovo passenger service as Flight 2808, when it hit trees on approach to Ivanovo Airport in rain and mist and crashed. | [5] [63] |
| 29 August 1992 | Kharkiv | Tu-134A-3 | CCCP-65810 | Georgia | W/O | 0/58 | Overran the runway at Kharkiv Airport following a long landing. | |
| 21 September 1992 | Kalga Airstrip | An-2R | CCCP-32596 | East Siberia | W/O | Un­known | Crashed 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) away from the Kalga Airstrip. | |
| 13 October 1992 | Vladivostok | Tu-154B-2 | CCCP-85528 | Belarus | W/O | 0/67 | Overran the runway at Vladivostok Airport as it failed to get airborne. | |
| 14 October 1992 | Kostanay | An-2R | CCCP-07840 | Kazakhstan | W/O | 0/3 | Crashed. | |
| 19 October 1992 | Ust-Nem | An-28 | CCCP-28785 | Komi | W/O | 15/16 | Crashed shortly after takeoff. During takeoff the left engine failed, probably due to snow ingestion. The propeller was feathered, but the aircraft began banking to the left, towards the failed engine. The flaps were retracted, yet too soon, causing a nose-up attitude. The aircraft stalled and crashed at the edge of a forest. Lack of training was also a factor. The aircraft was operating a domestic non-scheduled Ust-Nem–Syktyvkar passenger service as Flight 302. | |
| 7 November 1992 | Moscow | Il-62M | RA-86703 | Un­known | W/O | 0 | During maintenance at Domodedovo Airport, a fire started in a right wing fuel tank while a valve was being replaced. The fire, caused by an electric lamp, could not be extinguished and the aircraft burned out. | |
| 5 December 1992 | Yerevan | Tu-154A | CCCP-85105 | Armenia | W/O | 0/154 | Veered off the runway upon landing at Yerevan Airport. | |
| 30 January 1993 | Peledui | An-2R | CCCP-40479 | Yakut | W/O | 0/4 | Crashed in snow and flipped over. | |
| 26 September 1993 | Novoalekseevskaya | An-2R | CCCP-68150 | North Caucasus | W/O | Un­known | Crashed. | |
| 22 December 1993 | Off Uray | An-2TP | CCCP-01410 | Tyumen | W/O | 0/10 | Forced landed 190 kilometres (120 mi) away from Uray. | |
| 25 December 1993 | Grozny | Tu-154B-2 | RA-85296 | Un­known | W/O | 0/172 | Nosegear collapsed upon landing at Grozny Airport in bad weather. The aircraft had been leased to Vnukovo Airlines from Aeroflot. | |
| 8 February 1994 | Anadyr | An-12B | CCCP-11340 | Privolzhsk | W/O | 0/11 | Overran the runway on landing in fog at Anadyr Airport. | |
| 8 March 1994 | Delhi | Il-86 | RA-86119 | Russian International Airlines | W/O | 9 | Destroyed by fire as Flight 588 when it was hit by a crashing Boeing 737-200 that was being flown for training purposes at Indira Gandhi International Airport. | [76] [77] [78] |
| 23 March 1994 | Mezhdurechensk | A310-300 | F-OGQS | Russian International Airlines | W/O | 75/75 | The aircraft was operating an international scheduled Moscow–Hong Kong passenger service as Flight 593, when it crashed en route near Mezhdurechensk, after the auto-pilot partially shut off when the captain's son was allowed to sit in the pilot seat and handle the controls. | [79] [80] |
| 7 May 1994 | Arkhangelsk | Tu-134A-3 | RA-65976 | Un­known | W/O | 0/62 | Landed at Talagi Airport with the main starboard landing gear retracted, veering to the right and coming to rest off the runway. | |
| 25 June 1994 | Kirensk | An-2P | CCCP-70263 | East Siberia | W/O | 0/8 | Crashed on takeoff. | |
| 14 July 1994 | Blagoveshchensk | L-410UVP | RA-67470 | Un­known | W/O | 0/14 | One of the main landing gears ran into a ditch while taxiing at Blagoveshchensk Airport. | |
| 30 November 1994 | Grozny | Tu-134A-3 | CCCP-65858 | Un­known | W/O | 0/0 | Destroyed at Grozny Airport during a Russian raid amid the First Chechen War along with four other Tu-134s. | |
| 8 October 1996 | San Francesco al Campo | An-124-100 | RA-82069 | Russian International Airlines | W/O | 4/23 | Struck trees and houses following a go-around, with the flaps at take-off position. The aircraft was leased by Aeroflot and was being ferried empty to Torino from Moscow as Flight 9981. | [85] [86] |
| 1998 | Sheremetyevo Airport | Il-86 | RA-86080 | Russian International Airlines | W/O | 0 | Hard landing. | |
| 11 November 1998 | Anchorage | Il-62M | RA-86564 | Russian International Airlines | W/O | 0/12 | An Asiana Airlines Boeing 747-400 damaged both the starboard wing and the tail of the aircraft as it was standing at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. | |