1933 Tupolev ANT-7 Podolsk crash. The 1933 Tupolev ANT-7 Podolsk crash was an aviation accident that occurred south of Podolsk, Moscow Oblast, on Tuesday, 5 September 1933. The crash,  involving a converted Tupolev ANT-7 aircraft, resulted in the deaths of all eight people on board, including prominent figures in the Soviet aviation industry and civil aviation. The incident gained widespread attention and ultimately led to a comprehensive reorganization of air transport in the Soviet Union.

Aircraft 
The ANT-7 involved in the incident was created in July 1933 at the Moscow Aviation Plant No. 22 by converting a reconnaissance aircraft, the R-6. These aircraft were considered outdated at the time and were gradually being decommissioned. Therefore, they were converted into more comfortable passenger ANT-7 aircraft, which is why the converted aircraft is sometimes referred to as the R-6L ("limousine") in some references. These modifications were supported by the head of the Main Directorate of Aviation Industry, Pyotr Ionovich Baranov.

Only one copy was created, with all armament removed. The fuselage was modified to accommodate 8 passenger seats (according to other sources, the aircraft's seating capacity was 7), and the cockpit was glazed. Equipment for blind night flying and poor weather conditions was not installed. However, the test flight of the airliner took place near the plant's airfield and showed good results.

Crash 
In early September, an unexpected order arrived at the plant, requiring fuel tanks to be installed on the aircraft. The ANT-7 was to perform a long flight to Crimea and deliver a group of representatives from the aviation industry and civil aviation there, as a new aviation plant was being opened in Sevastopol.

It is known (from the daughter of A. Z. Goltsman) that the order to fly to Crimea, delivered by a military courier, was personally received from Stalin. Whether the crash was orchestrated or not is unknown.

There were a total of 2 crew members and 6 passengers on board:
 Crew
 Dorfman I. M. — Chief Pilot of Glavaviaprom
 Plotnikov N. E. — Flight mechanic
 Passengers
 Baranov P. I. — Deputy Commissar of Heavy Industry, Head of the Main Directorate of Aviation Industry
 B. M. Baranova — his wife (who persuaded her husband to take her to Crimea, where their children were vacationing)
 Goltsman A. Z. — Head of the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet of the USSR
 Petrov (Sergeyev) A. V. — Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet
 Gorbunov S. P. — Director of the Aviation Plant No. 22
 Zarzar V. A. — Member of the Presidium of the State Planning Committee of the USSR

The weather conditions were poor, but Baranov insisted on the departure. At 09:00, the ANT-7 took off from Moscow. 20 minutes later, near Podolsk, the low-flying airliner snagged the undercarriage on a wire of an amateur radio antenna, which was stretched on high poles. Losing speed, the aircraft then struck the top of a tall white willow with the aileron of its left wing, causing the left wing section to separate from the aircraft. The ANT-7 then lost control, crashed into the ground and was completely destroyed. All 8 people on board died.

Causes 
The crash almost completely repeated the crash near Naro-Fominsk that occurred two years earlier — the aircraft, flying in foggy conditions and at a dangerously low altitude, collided with trees and then crashed into the ground. Various reasons were given as to why pilot Dorfman was flying at such a low altitude. Some believed that the pilot was not actually experienced enough and undeservedly held the position of chief pilot. Others believed that the aircraft was overloaded, which prevented it from gaining altitude. The investigation commission concluded that due to low cloud cover, and lacking equipment (instruments and radio equipment) for blind flights, the pilot was forced to fly the airliner at such a low altitude to avoid losing sight of the ground, which led to the collision with obstacles.

Aftermath 
The crash effectively decapitated the Soviet aviation industry and civil aviation. Two years before the incident, high-ranking party officials were banned from flying on aircraft. Joseph Stalin was vacationing in Sochi when he learned of the incident, while Lazar Kaganovich was "in charge" in Moscow at the time and received the following telegram.

As a result, the Politburo created and approved by Stalin a list of posts, from members of the Central Committee to heads of main directorates of people's commissariats, who were forbidden to fly freely. For the first time in the country, an annual qualification check for pilots was introduced. The aviation industry was now required to equip every aircraft with all necessary equipment for instrument flights. Unauthorized modifications of aircraft and the transportation of passengers on untested airliners were also prohibited. But more significantly, the Soviet Union created navigation, meteorological, and navigation services, and all tall structures, including radio antennas, were now required to be marked with signal lights. Additionally, work on the creation of the Air Code was expedited. Twenty-three years later, in 1956, a special government aviation unit was established to transport party leaders.

See also 
 1931 Tupolev ANT-9 crash
 1933 in aviation

References 

September 1933 in Europe
Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union
Aviation accidents and incidents caused by weather
Aviation accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain