Aeroflot Flight 5003 (1977)

1977 Il-18 airliner accident This article is about the crash in 1977 involving an Il-18. For the accident involving an Antonov An-12 in 1967, see Aeroflot Flight 5003 (1967).

Aeroflot Flight 5003
Accident
An Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-18 similar to the one involved in the crash
Date	15 February 1977 (1977-02-15)
Summary	Stalled on approach due to pilot error
Site	Near Mineralnye Vody, Stavropol Krai
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Ilyushin Il-18V
Operator	Aeroflot
Registration	CCCP-75520
Flight origin	Tashkent International Airport
Stopover	Nukus Airport
Destination	Mineralnye Vody Airport
Occupants	98
Passengers	92
Crew	6
Fatalities	77
Survivors	21

Aeroflot Flight 5003 (Russian: Рейс 5003 Аэрофлота Reys 5003 Aeroflota) was a scheduled passenger flight from Tashkent to Mineralnye Vody with a stopover in Nukus; the Ilyushin 18V operating the route on 15 February 1977 crashed near the district of Mineralnye Vody while climbing after a missed approach. Of the 98 people on board, 77 perished in the crash.

Aircraft involved

The aircraft involved in the accident was an Ilyushin Il-18V, registered CCCP-75520 to Aeroflot. In 1963, the aircraft was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which sent it to the Tashkent Air Division of the Uzbek Civil Aviation Administration. The cabin had a capacity of 89 seats, but 92 passengers were permitted on the aircraft. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had 29,443 flight hours and 10,817 pressurization cycles.

Passengers and crew

On board flight 5003 were 92 passengers, of which 4 were children. Six crew members were also aboard the flight, led by pilot in command N. A. Konovalenko (Н. А. Коноваленко) and joined by first officer B.V. Polyakov (Б.В. Поляков), flight engineer N.I. Sorokin (Н. И. Сорокин), and navigator A.P. Vishnevetsky (А. П. Вишневецкий). Two flight attendants were also on board the flight.

Synopsis

The crash happened on the Nukus-Mineralnye Vody part of the route. At the time of the accident, the weather conditions at Mineralnye Vody Airport were reported to be low-level clouds and fog less than 100 meters above the ground, ice was present on the ground, and visibility ranged between 1020 and 1180 meters. The aircraft approached the airport at a heading of 117°. While preparing for landing the crew lowered the flaps and reduced the speed of the aircraft from 290 to 260 km/h; during the approach the crew was distracted monitoring instruments and searching for landmarks, resulting in their failure to notice the flight drifting slightly off course. At 1.5 kilometers from the airport, the pilots realized the deviation and changed the heading to 127°, but the pilot in command realized the landing was impossible and went around for a second approach. The flight, while attempting to disengage the first approach, did not climb 300 meters in a straight line, but instead turned right at 80–90 meters above the ground, losing altitude; placing it in a 4–5° roll. The speed of the aircraft reached 270 km/h, and then at an altitude of 120–130 meters the crew adjusted the flaps too quickly at the same time. The pilot in command pulled the nose up until the aircraft was pitched 11°, which led to an overload of 1.64 gs. The excessive g force damaged the ailerons, rudder, and other control surfaces. The aircraft continued turning to the right despite the crew's attempts to adjust the ailerons. In just eight seconds the flight rolled from a heading of 165° to 205°. The aircraft entered a right bank of 10–30° Il-18 flew at a heading 102° towards the airport, which the pilots attempted to correct; the pilots tried to gain altitude, but at 23:17:44, flying at a speed of 285 km/h at a heading of 216° and with a left bank of 5-8°, the aircraft hit the ground, damaging a railroad.

Causes

The investigation attributed the accident to crew error. The pilots missed the approach, and when aborting the landing put the aircraft at too sharp angle of attack, causing a stall and damaging the control surfaces.

References

Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Ilyushin 18V CCCP-75520 Mineralnye Vody Airport (MRV)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
"Il-18 c/n 183006703". Scramble Soviet Transport Database. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
Авиакатастрофа Ил-18В в районе Минеральных Вод. 1977 [Air crash Il-18B near Mineralnye Vody, 1977]. avia.pro (in Russian). 31 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
"Crash of an Ilyushin Il-18V in Mineralnye Vody: 77 killed". B3A Archives.

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Fleet

Accidents and
incidents

1940s	G-2 Alma-Ata crash ANT-20bis crash CCCP-Л1450 crash Flight 17
1950s	Il-12 Karaganda crash Il-12 Novosibirsk crash Kemerovo mid-air collision Flight 229 Flight 783 Flight 10 Flight 136 Flight 214 Flight 229 Kiev mid-air collision Flight 11 Flight 10 Flight 105 Flight 04 Flight 365 Flight 164 Il-12 Lazo crash Тu-104 Kanash crash Flight 200 Flight 315
1960s	Flight 315 Flight 207 Flight 036 Flight 068 Flight 245 Flight 902 Flight 415 Flight 03 Flight 213 Flight 191 Flight 25 Flight 012 Flight 366 Flight 663 Flight 721 Flight 101/X-20 Flight 542 Flight 513 Flight 99 Flight 065 Flight 2723 Flight 5003 Flight 2230 Flight L-51 Flight 1668 Flight 15 Flight 831 Flight F-28 Flight N-826
1970s	Flight U-45 Flight 1661 Flight 3630 CCCP-11000 crash CCCP-12996 crash Flight 1969 Flight 1912 Flight 773 Flight N-63 Flight 2174 Flight 1491 Flight 558 Flight 1036 Flight 217 Flight 6263 Flight 141 Flight 630 Flight X-167 Flight 6551 Flight 109 Flight A-13 Flight 3932 Flight 964 Flight 19 Flight 2022 Flight 2420 CCCP-75559 crash Flight 662 Flight E-15 Flight A-53 Flight 2003 Flight 3739 Flight 909 Flight 1802 Flight 418 Flights 7957 and 31 Flight 2415 Flight N-36 Flight 3843 Flight 5003 Flight 331 Flight B-2 Flight 6709 Flight 1080 Flight 6515 Flight 1691 Flights 7628 and 7880 Flight 5484
1980s	Flight 4225 Flight 498 Flight 811 Flight 3603 Flight 8641 Flight 411 Flight 343 Flight 5463 Flight 601 Flight 3352 Flight F-637 Flight 3519 Flight 7841 Zolochiv mid-air collision Flight 5143 Flight 101/435 Flight F-77 Flight 2306 Flight 6502 Flight 892 Flight U-505 Flight N-528 Flight 699 Flight 3739
since 1990s	Flight E-35D CCCP-46472 crash Flight 2808 Flight 593 Flight 521 Flight 821 Flight 1492

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1977 (1977)
Jan 5 Connellan air disasterJan 13 Aeroflot Flight 3843Jan 13 Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045Jan 15 Linjeflyg Flight 618Feb 15 Aeroflot Flight 5003Mar 17 British Airtours Boeing 707 crashMar 27 Tenerife airport disasterApr 4 Southern Airways Flight 242Apr 12 Delta Air Lines Flight 1080May 7 Tavda mid-air collisionMay 10 Israeli CH-53 crashMay 14 Dan-Air Boeing 707 crashMay 27 Aeroflot Flight 331Jul 10 Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134 hijackingJul 20 Aeroflot Flight B-2Aug 1 Encino helicopter crashSep 21 Malév Flight 203Sep 27 Japan Air Lines Flight 715Sep 27 Yokohama F-4 crashSep 28 Japan Air Lines Flight 472Oct 13 Lufthansa Flight 181Oct 20 Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crashNov 19 TAP Flight 425Nov 21 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 9Dec 2 Libyan Arab Airlines Tu-154 crashDec 4 Malaysian Airline System Flight 653Dec 13 Air Indiana Flight 216Dec 17 United Airlines Flight 2860Dec 18 SA de Transport Aérien Flight 730Dec 19 Vieques Air Link crash
1976 ◄ ► 1978

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1977 (1977)

Jan 5 Connellan air disasterJan 13 Aeroflot Flight 3843Jan 13 Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045Jan 15 Linjeflyg Flight 618Feb 15 Aeroflot Flight 5003Mar 17 British Airtours Boeing 707 crashMar 27 Tenerife airport disasterApr 4 Southern Airways Flight 242Apr 12 Delta Air Lines Flight 1080May 7 Tavda mid-air collisionMay 10 Israeli CH-53 crashMay 14 Dan-Air Boeing 707 crashMay 27 Aeroflot Flight 331Jul 10 Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134 hijackingJul 20 Aeroflot Flight B-2Aug 1 Encino helicopter crashSep 21 Malév Flight 203Sep 27 Japan Air Lines Flight 715Sep 27 Yokohama F-4 crashSep 28 Japan Air Lines Flight 472Oct 13 Lufthansa Flight 181Oct 20 Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crashNov 19 TAP Flight 425Nov 21 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 9Dec 2 Libyan Arab Airlines Tu-154 crashDec 4 Malaysian Airline System Flight 653Dec 13 Air Indiana Flight 216Dec 17 United Airlines Flight 2860Dec 18 SA de Transport Aérien Flight 730Dec 19 Vieques Air Link crash

1976 ◄ ► 1978

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union in the 1970s
1970	Batagay Aeroflot An-24 crash (28 January 1970) Aeroflot Flight 145 (29 January 1970) Aeroflot Flight U-45 (February 1970) Aeroflot Flight 1661 (April 1970) Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affair (June 1970) Aeroflot Flight 3630 (September 1970) Aeroflot Flight 244 (October 1970)
1971	Surgut Aeroflot An-12 crash (22 January 1971) Surgut Aeroflot An-12 crash (31 January 1971) Aeroflot Flight 1969 (March 1971) Aeroflot Flight 1912 (July 1971) Malév Flight 110 (September 1971) Aeroflot Flight 773 (October 1971) Aeroflot Flight N-63 (November 1971) Aeroflot Flight 2174 (December 1971)
1972	Aeroflot Flight B-608 (4 May 1972) Svetlogorsk An-24 crash (16 May 1972) Aeroflot Flight 1491 (18 May 1972) Aeroflot Flight 558 (August 1972) Aeroflot Flight 1036 (1 October 1972) Aeroflot Flight 217 (13 October 1972) Japan Air Lines Flight 446 (November 1972)
1973	Aeroflot Flight 6263 (January 1973) Aeroflot Flight 630 (24 February 1973) Aeroflot Flight X-167 (28 February 1973) Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 307 (March 1973) Aeroflot Flight 2420 (April 1973) Aeroflot Flight 6551 (11 May 1973) Aeroflot Flight 109 (18 May 1973) Aeroflot Flight A-13 (August 1973) Aeroflot Flight 3932 (September 1973) Aeroflot Flight 964 (October 1973) Aeroflot Flight 19 (November 1973) Aeroflot Flight 2022 (December 1973)
1974	Aeroflot Flight H-75 (January 1974) Leningrad Aeroflot Il-18 crash (April 1974)
1975	Aeroflot Flight E-15 (July 1975) Aeroflot Flight 6274 (November 1975)
1976	Aeroflot Flight 2003 (January 1976) Aeroflot Flight 3739 (February 1976) Aeroflot Flight 909 (March 1976) Aeroflot Flight 1802 (May 1976) Anapa mid-air collision (September 1976) Aeroflot Flight 2415 (November 1976) Aeroflot Flight N-36 (December 1976)
1977	Aeroflot Flight 3843 (January 1977) Aeroflot Flight 5003 (February 1977) Tavda mid-air collision (May 1977) Aeroflot Tu-134 hijacking (10 July 1977) Aeroflot Flight B-2 (20 July 1977)
1978	Korean Air Lines Flight 902 (April 1978) Aeroflot Flight 6709 (19 May 1978) Yegoryevsk Tu-144 crash (23 May 1978) Iranian Chinook shootdown (June 1978) Aeroflot Flight 1080 (7 October 1978) Aeroflot Flight 6515 (23 October 1978)
1979	Aeroflot Flight 1691 (March 1979) Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collision (11 August 1979) Aeroflot Flight 5484 (29 August 1979)
1960–1969 ◄ 1970–1979 ► 1980–1991

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