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Aeroflot Flight 593

Coordinates: 53°30′N 88°15′E / 53.500°N 88.250°E / 53.500; 88.250
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Aeroflot Flight 593
Artist rendition of the aircraft involved in the accident while en route
Accident
DateMarch 23, 1994 (1994-03-23)
SummaryPilot error, Autopilot malfunction, 16 year-old boy in command of controls
Site20 km (12 mi) E of Mezhdurechensk, Russia
53°30′N 88°15′E / 53.500°N 88.250°E / 53.500; 88.250
Aircraft
Aircraft typeAirbus A310-304
Aircraft nameGlinka
OperatorAeroflot–Russian International Airlines
RegistrationF-OGQS
Flight originSheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia
DestinationKai Tak Airport, Hong Kong
Passengers63
Crew12
Fatalities75 (all)
Injuries0
Survivors0

Aeroflot Flight 593 was an Aeroflot–Russian International Airlines Airbus A310-304 that crashed into a hillside of the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain range, Kemerovo Oblast, on 23 March 1994.[1][2] The jet was en route from Sheremetyevo International Airport to Hong Kong Kai Tak International Airport with 75 occupants aboard, of whom 63 were passengers.[1][3] Most of the passengers were businessmen from Hong Kong and Taiwan who were looking for economic opportunities in Russia.[4] There were no survivors.[1]

No evidence supporting that technical malfunctions led to the crash was found.[5] Cockpit voice and flight data recorders revealed the presence of unauthorised people in the flight deck at the time of the accident;[6] in particular, the pilot's 12-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son were both there.[7] The latter apparently had unknowingly disabled the A310 autopilot's control of the aircraft's ailerons while seated at the controls. The aircraft had then rolled into a steep bank and near-vertical dive from which the pilots were unable to regain control.[8] Unlike Soviet planes with which the crew had been familiar, no audible alarm accompanied the autopilot's partial disconnection and because of this, they remained unaware of what was happening. As a result of the crash investigation, a number of design changes to the A310 autopilot system were recommended.[citation needed]

Aircraft

F-OGQS, the aircraft involved in the accident, is seen here on the apron at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. (1993)

The aircraft involved in the accident was a leased Airbus A310-304, registration F-OGQS, msn 596, that was delivered new to Aeroflot on 11 December 1992.[9] Powered with two General Electric CF6-80C2A2 engines, the airframe had its maiden flight as F-WWCS on 11 September 1991, and was one of five operating for Russian Airlines, an autonomous division of Aeroflot–Russian International Airlines that was set up for serving routes to the Russian Far East and Southeast Asia.[2][9] On average, the crew of three operating the aircraft had logged 900 hours on the type.[2]

Description of the accident

The relief pilot, Yaroslav Kudrinsky (Template:Lang-ru), was taking his two children on their first international flight and they were brought to the cockpit while he was on duty.[7] Aeroflot allowed families of pilots to travel at a discounted rate once per year.[4] With the autopilot active, Kudrinsky, against regulations, offered to let them sit at the controls. First his daughter Yana took the pilot's left front seat. Kudrinsky adjusted the autopilot's heading to give her the impression that she was turning the plane, though she actually had no control of the aircraft. Next, his son Eldar Kudrinsky (Template:Lang-ru), took the pilot's seat.[7] Unlike his sister, Eldar applied enough force to the control column to contradict the autopilot for 30 seconds.

What nobody knew was that by doing this, he disconnected the aileron's autopilot: the flight computer switched the plane's ailerons to manual control while maintaining control over the other flight systems. The plane did not audibly signal a warning that this had occurred, although an indicator light did come on. It apparently went unnoticed by the pilots, who had previously flown Russian-designed planes which had audible warning signals. The first to notice a problem was Eldar, who observed that the plane was banking right. Shortly after, the flight path indicator changed to show the new flight path of the aircraft as it turned. Since the turn was continuous, the resulting predicted flight path drawn on screen was a 180 degree turn. This indication is similar to the indications shown when in a holding pattern, where a 180 degree turn is intentional to remain in one place. This confused the pilots for nine seconds.

Soon the plane banked past a 45-degree angle (steeper than it was designed for). This increased the g-force on the pilots and crew, making it impossible for them to regain control. After banking as much as 90 degrees, the remaining functions of the autopilot tried to correct the plane's altitude by putting the plane in an almost vertical ascent, nearly stalling the plane. The co-pilot and Eldar managed to get the plane into a nosedive, which reduced the g-force on them and enabled the captain to take the controls. Though he and his co-pilot did regain control, their altitude by then was too low to recover, and the plane crashed at high vertical speed —estimated at 70 m/s (14,000 ft/min)—,[10] killing all aboard. The aircraft crashed gear-up, and all passengers were prepared for an emergency, as they were strapped into their seats.[10] No distress calls were made prior to the crash.[2] Despite the struggles of both pilots to save the aircraft, it was later concluded that if they had simply let go of the control column, the autopilot would have automatically taken action to prevent stalling, thus avoiding the accident.[4]

The wreckage was located on a remote hillside approximately 20 km (12 mi) east of Mezhdurechensk, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia; the flight data recorders were found on the second day of searching.[2] Families of western victims placed flowers on the crash site, while families of Chinese victims scattered pieces of paper with messages written on them around the crash site.[4]

Dramatisation

A season three episode of the Canadian-produced TV series Mayday (Air Emergency, Air Crash Investigation), "Kid in the Cockpit", featured this crash.

Flight number

Although it is common practice for airlines to retire the flight numbers of flights involved in fatal accidents,[11] [citation needed] Nevertheless, the airline has modificated its schedules and flight 595 is the only one servicing Hong Kong; as of September 2011, the route is operated on a daily basis using Airbus A330-200 equipment.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 12 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Airbus A310 crashes in Russia" (PDF). Flight International: 5. 30 March 1994–5 April 1994. Retrieved 12 September 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "AIRLINE SAFETY REVIEW–FATAL ACCIDENTS: SCHEDULED PASSENGER FLIGHTS" (PDF). Flight International: 31. 20 July 1994–26 July 1994. Retrieved 12 September 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d "Kid in Cockpit," Mayday (also known as Air Crash Investigation)
  5. ^ "A310 crash findings imminent" (PDF). Flight International: 8. 15 June 1994–21 June 1994. Retrieved 7 November 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Velovich, Alexander (13 April 1994–19 April 1994). "A310 crash: Conflict over child at controls' report" (PDF). Flight International: 4–5. Retrieved 10 September 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b c "Transcript reveals cockpit anarchy" (PDF). Flight International: 5. 5 October 1994–11 October 1994. Retrieved 10 September 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Learmount, David; Velovich, Alexander (27 April 1994–3 May 1994). "FDR backs A310 crash allegations" (PDF). Flight International: 5. Retrieved 10 September 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b "Aeroflot F-OGQS". Airfleets.net. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  10. ^ a b Velovich, Alexander (6 April 1994–12 April 1994). "Aeroflot A310 crash continues to puzzle" (PDF). Flight International: 8. Retrieved 13 October 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Grossman, David (31 October 2005). "Check your travel superstitions, or carry them on?". USA Today. Retrieved 12 September 2011. Most airlines retire the number of their flight after a crash.
  12. ^ "Aeroflot Online schedule". Aeroflot. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
External image
image icon Airliners.net Pre-crash pictures
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