Aeroflot Flight 99

Aeroflot Flight 99

A Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-124 similar to the one involved in the accident.
Accident
Date	11 November 1965 (1965-11-11)
Summary	CFIT
Site	1.5km from Murmansk Airport, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Union
Aircraft type	Tupolev Tu-124
Operator	Aeroflot
Registration	CCCP-45086
Flight origin	Leningrad-Pulkovo Airport
Destination	Murmansk Airport
Passengers	57
Crew	7
Fatalities	32
Survivors	32

Aeroflot Flight 99 was a Tupolev Tu-124 operating a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Leningrad to Murmansk, both in the Soviet Union, that crashed while attempting to land on 11 November 1965. Of the 64 passengers and crew on board, 32 were killed in the accident. The other half survived, many with injuries. The distance between Leningrad and Murmansk is 1031 km.

Accident

Aeroflot Flight SU99 took off from Leningrad-Pulkovo Airport at 14:21. The flight went smoothly during takeoff and cruise. However, during the descent towards Murmansk, weather had deteriorated with cumulonimbus clouds at 260 meters, snow and a visibility of 1.5km. During the approach, 7.1km from the runway, the Tupolev was flying 400 m to the left of the extended centreline. About 2400 m from the runway, the aircraft went into a strong snowstorm. The pilots descended the plane below the glidepath for some reason. To make matters worse, the pilots noticed neighbourhood lighting on the ground near the middle marker. This caused the pilots to mistaken them for runway lights and increased their vertical speed. When the pilots noticed the mistake, it was too late and the aircraft crashed onto the frozen Lake Kilp-Yavr. After hitting the ice the aircraft lost the left wing, and the fuselage split in half (separated from the cockpit). The right wing then separated. The fuselage stopped on the ice 1562 m from the beginning of the runway, and it quickly sank. Soldiers managed to save several passengers from the sunken fuselage. The cockpit stopped on the ice 166 m to the left of the fuselage and also fell through the ice in shallow waters near a small island in the middle of the lake. It sank partially. All crew members, except the navigator managed to escape.