CCCP-76569

On the 18th October 1989, an IL-76MD of the Soviet Air Force, registered CCCP-76569, crashed off the coast of Sumqayit, Azerbaijan, killing all 57 people aboard the aircraft.

## Accident

### Summary

Catastrophic mechanical failure leading to fire and destruction of flight systems.

## Aircraft

### Flight Origin

Nasosnya Air Force Base, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic

### Flight Destination

Zhovtneve Air Base, Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republic

## Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an IL-76MD, MSN 0033448421, built in 1983 by **Tashkent Mechanical Plant** (TAPOiCh) for the Soviet Air Force. The aircraft was powered by four Soloviev D-30KP turbofan engines, and had flown 27000 hours before the crash.

## Crew

The crew consisted of:

* Captain: Alexander Nickolaevich Kalmykov
* First Officer: Valery Viktorovich Vologin
* Flight Engineer: Alexander Nickolaevich Pesterev
* Navigator: Fashkhaddin Zakirov
* Flight Operator Instructor: Yuriy Nickolaevich Gavrikov
* Air Gunner: Alexander Vladimirovich Andriyash
* Ground Engineers: Igor Alexandrovich Krayukhin and Alexei Khochuevich Gashimov
* Flight Engineer Instructor: Evgeny Viktorovich Andreev

## Accident

On October 18, 1989, the Il-76 crew was instructed to transport 50 members of the 8th Paratrooper Regiment and Airborne Division members, who took part in the quell riots in Sumqayit, Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh conflict). They were flying to Bolgrad (Ukrainian city) where the 8th Regiment was based. In addition, there were also two Soviet Armed Forces vehicles as additional cargo.

The crew members were from the 37th Military Transport Aviation Division (based in Artsyz, Ukraine).

During the departure, the crew could not start one of the engines of their regular aircraft. They was forced to perform a flight on a reserve airplane. When checking this reserve (second) aircraft, the ground engineers team found shortcomings in the preparation of the aircraft for departure. This aircraft was suspended from the task. The crew was forced to perform a flight on IL-76 no. CCCP-76569. The airplane took off at 18:22:40 local time, then it began to climb and make a left turn. 5 minutes later engine №1 caught fire at an altitude of 1600 meters. The air gunner reported this to the captain after which the fire extinguishing system was immediately applied by the engineer. The crew then decided to return back to the airport. However, the fire could not be extinguished - the fuel pipeline had been ruptured andsubsequently caught fire, spreading to the fuel tanks and the left wing. 1.5 minutes after engine #1 fell off the aircraft which was also noticed by the air gunner. During this, the engine parts damaged the fuel tank which only intensified the fire.

When the plane was around 8 kilometers from Nasosnya, the captain asked the air traffic controller to call the fire trucks and ambulances on the runway, after which he told to the flight engineer to open the emergency exits. However, the left wing of the aircraft was now almost completely destroyed by the fire. The destruction of the wing led to a fast roll and loss of speed. A few seconds later, the now uncontrollable airplane crashed into the Caspian Sea, 1.5 kilometers from the coast at 18:38 local time.

The plane crashed 11 minutes after the engine fire happened. All 57 people on board died instantly upon impact.

## Investigation

The engine fire was due to a design defect at the TAPOiCh factory. Some engine parts were placed incorrectly, resulting in friction and overheating. Two years earlier an Il-62 of LOT Polish Airlines, which had the same engines fitted, (D-30KP) crashed for the same reason. The engine bearings had failed, causing a turbine explosion which also caused to a fire and eventual loss of control.

## Aftermath

In December 1989 the structure of the engine was fixed. However, after a throrough inspection of all D-30KP engines in active service during 1992, it was found that 45 engines out of the 193 inspected showed signs of defects . Soon after, aircraft designers decided to abandon this engine model in favour of newer powerplants.

## References

- https://vk.com/@aviation\_\_is\_\_our\_\_life-sinyaya-ptica-padala-v-more

- https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19891018-0

- http://war.airdisaster.ru/database.php?id=29

- https://ilsvik.ru/?p=29518

- http://war.airdisaster.ru/database.php?id=29

- http://nkao.ru/plg/forum/forum\_viewtopic.php?266