Aeroflot Flight 811 - Misplaced Pages

1981 mid-air collision

Aeroflot Flight 811
Accident
Date	24 August 1981
Summary	Mid-air collision
Site	70 km (43.8 mls) E of Zavitinsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) 50°01′10″N 130°28′00″E / 50.01944°N 130.46667°E / 50.01944; 130.46667
Total fatalities	37
Total injuries	1
Total survivors	1
First aircraft
An Aeroflot An-24RV similar to the accident aircraft
Type	Antonov An-24RV
Operator	Aeroflot
Registration	CCCP-46653
Flight origin	Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport (UUS)
Stopover	Komsomolsk-on-Amur Airport (KXK)
Destination	Blagoveshchensk Airport (BQS/UHBB)
Passengers	27
Crew	5
Fatalities	31
Injuries	1
Survivors	1
Second aircraft
A Tu-16K similar to the accident aircraft
Type	Tupolev Tu-16K
Operator	Soviet Air Forces
Registration	07514 (call sign)
Flight origin	Zavitinsk air base
Destination	Zavitinsk air base
Crew	6
Fatalities	6
Survivors	0

Aeroflot Flight 811 was a scheduled Soviet domestic passenger flight from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Blagoveshchensk that collided mid-air on 24 August 1981 with a Tupolev Tu-16K strategic bomber over Zavitinsky District in Amur Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia). The collision between Aeroflot's Antonov An-24RV and the Tupolev Tu-16K occurred at an altitude of 5,220 metres (17,130 ft), killing 37 people on both aircraft. The sole survivor, 20-year-old passenger Larisa Savitskaya, who had been aboard Flight 811, was rescued on the third day after the accident.

Background and collision

Antonov An-24RV departed from Komsomolsk-on-Amur at 14:56 local time, after a four-hour delay due to weather conditions. The crew consisted of first pilot Alexander Mirgorodsky, co-pilot Valery Shevelev, navigating officer Fedosy Kryzhanovsky, flight engineer Nikolai Dimitriyev and flight attendant Galina Borisova. Among the passengers was one child. Larisa Savitskaya and her husband Vladimir were returning from their honeymoon.

The flight dispatcher was informed that the local airspace would be traversed by military aircraft at altitudes of 4,200–4,500 metres (13,800–14,800 ft). On the same day, at 16:00 and 16:01 local time two Tupolev Tu-16Ks left Zavitinsk air base for weather reconnaissance. At 16:21 local time, one of them (serial number 6203106) collided with the Aeroflot An-24RV, 70 km east of Zavitinsk air base. The collision occurred in good lighting conditions, with a visibility of over 10 km. Savitskaya was sound asleep at that moment. The Tu-16K razed off the An-24RV's roof and severed both wings. The temperature inside An-24RV's cabin dropped from 25 to −30 °C (77 to −22 °F). Both aircraft disintegrated and fell on taiga terrain. The fragments of Antonov An-24RV were scattered in a south-western direction, 1020 m from the collision point, on a 2,500-by-900-metre (8,200 by 3,000 ft) area. The Tu-16K exploded after the ground impact, its fragments were scattered approximately 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) from the collision point.

Savitskaya was conscious during the fall, which lasted eight minutes. She survived partly because the 4-by-3-metre (13 by 10 ft) aircraft fragment she was in started to glide and landed on a soft, swampy glade. Savitskaya also pushed against the seat with her hands and feet, "perhaps hoping to absorb the blow" in her own words. The impact with the ground, however, knocked her temporarily unconscious. She sustained a concussion, a broken arm and rib and some spinal injuries.

Investigation

The investigation concluded that the flight operations director at Zavitinsk air base did not use radar assistance to track the Tupolevs, which became the direct cause of the accident. Additionally, there was a poor coordination between the local civilian and military air traffic control due to flawed air traffic regulations. Military prosecutors placed the responsibility for the accident on the pilots of both aircraft.

Aftermath

The first reports about the accident in the Soviet press were censored, saying Savitskaya had crashed in a homemade glider. Savitskaya was warned by the KGB not to reveal the accident to the public; she spoke openly about the accident for the first time on 11 January 2001 in Moscow. Savitskaya was paid 75 Soviet rubles ($20) compensation by Aeroflot.

Portrayal in films

The One (Russian: Одна, romanized: Odna, lit. 'Alone') is a 2022 Russian disaster-survival adventure film written, co-produced and directed by Dmitry Suvorov. The film tells the story of Savitskaya's life, the catastrophe and her rescue. Savitskaya, who attended the premiere, is portrayed by Russian actress Nadezhda Kaleganova.

References

^ Lyuba Pronina (7 August 2002). "Trapped in a Harrowing Midair Collision". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
^ "Лариса САВИЦКАЯ: "Для меня уже вырыли могилу"". Izvestia (in Russian). 29 July 2002. Retrieved 24 January 2014.

External links

Accident description (Aviation Safety Network)

Aeroflot

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Subsidiaries

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Inactive	Dobrolet Donavia Orenair SAT Airlines Vladivostok Air
Exited	Aurora Nordavia (now Smartavia)

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 1981 (1981)
Feb 7 Pushkin Tu-104 crashMar 2 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326Mar 28 Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206May 2 Aer Lingus Flight 164May 7 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 901Jun 14 Aeroflot Flight 498Jun 26 Dan-Air Flight 240Jul 18 Armenia mid-air collisionJul 20 Somali Airlines Flight 40Jul 27 Aeroméxico Flight 230Jul 31 Panamanian Air Force Twin Otter crashAug 9 Barrington Tops Cessna 210 disappearanceAug 13 G-ASWI ditchingAug 19 Gulf of Sidra incidentAug 22 Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103Aug 24 Aeroflot Flight 811Aug 26 Aeropesca Colombia Flight 221Sep 18 Zheleznogorsk mid-air collisionSep 22 Eastern Air Lines Flight 935Sep 29 Indian Airlines Flight 423Sep 29 Iranian Air Force C-130 crashOct 6 NLM CityHopper Flight 431Nov 8 Aeroméxico Flight 110Nov 17 Aeroflot Flight 3603Dec 1 Inex-Adria Flight 1308
1980 ◄ ► 1982

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1981 (1981)

Feb 7 Pushkin Tu-104 crashMar 2 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326Mar 28 Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206May 2 Aer Lingus Flight 164May 7 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 901Jun 14 Aeroflot Flight 498Jun 26 Dan-Air Flight 240Jul 18 Armenia mid-air collisionJul 20 Somali Airlines Flight 40Jul 27 Aeroméxico Flight 230Jul 31 Panamanian Air Force Twin Otter crashAug 9 Barrington Tops Cessna 210 disappearanceAug 13 G-ASWI ditchingAug 19 Gulf of Sidra incidentAug 22 Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103Aug 24 Aeroflot Flight 811Aug 26 Aeropesca Colombia Flight 221Sep 18 Zheleznogorsk mid-air collisionSep 22 Eastern Air Lines Flight 935Sep 29 Indian Airlines Flight 423Sep 29 Iranian Air Force C-130 crashOct 6 NLM CityHopper Flight 431Nov 8 Aeroméxico Flight 110Nov 17 Aeroflot Flight 3603Dec 1 Inex-Adria Flight 1308

1980 ◄ ► 1982

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s
1980	Aeroflot Flight Sh-88 (June 1980) Aeroflot Flight 4225 (July 1980)
1981	Pushkin Tu-104 crash (February 1981) Aeroflot Flight 498 (June 1981) Armenia mid-air collision (July 1981) Aeroflot Flight 811 (August 1981) Zheleznogorsk mid-air collision (September 1981) Aeroflot Flight 3603 (November 1981)
1982	Aeroflot Flight 8641 (June 1982) Aeroflot Flight 411 (July 1982) Sukhumi Dranda Airport runway collision (August 1982)
1983	Aeroflot Flight E-46 (April 1983) Aeroflot Flight 5463 (August 1983) Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (September 1983) Aeroflot Flight 601 (December 1983)
1984	Aeroflot Flight 3352 (October 1984) Aeroflot Flight 3519 (December 1984)
1985	Aeroflot Flight 7841 (February 1985) Zolochiv mid-air collision (May 1985) Aeroflot Flight 5143 (July 1985) Aeroflot Flight 101/435 (December 1985)
1986	Aeroflot Flight F-77 (March 1986) Aeroflot Flight 2306 (July 1986) Aeroflot Flight 6502 (October 1986)
1987	Aeroflot Flight N-528 (June 1987) Aeroflot Flight U-505 (July 1987)
1988	Aeroflot Flight 699 (18 January 1988) Aeroflot Flight 29674 (24 January 1988) Aeroflot Flight 3739 (March 1988) Soviet Air Force Il-76 crash (December 1988)
1989	Soviet Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 crash (October 1989) Aeroflot Flight 37577 (November 1989)
1990	Aeroflot Flight 6246 (January 1990) Navoiy Aeroflot An-24 crash (March 1990)
1991	Aeroflot Flight 8556 (May 1991) Yugavia Flight S-519 (7 November 1991) Azerbaijani Mil Mi-8 shootdown (20 November 1991)
1970–1979 ◄ 1980–1991 ► 1990–1999 (Russia) Aviation incidents in other Post-Soviet states: Armenia · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Georgia · Kazakhstan · Kyrgyzstan · Tajikistan · Ukraine · Uzbekistan

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