The aircraft involved in the accident was a Yakovlev Yak-40 registered to Aeroflot. The aircraft rolled off the assembly line at Saratov factory on November 17, 1972.
Timeline and Summary
At the time of takeoff, cumulonimbus clouds were present at 700 meters, visibility was limited to six kilometers; wind was 6 km/h at 20° with gusts up to 14.5 km/h. At 11:16:37 weather observers recommended a storm warning to the manager, to which he said: "busy." In violation of the law, the information was not passed along the chain of command. At 11:16:47 the crew asked the controller about the radar visibility. The manager reported visibility at 2000 meters and stated that they were visible on radar. After receiving this information, the crew decided to go through the system. At 11:18:15 at a distance of 20 km from the airport, the manager passed the crew go to the dispatcher for landing. At a distance of 15 km from the airport at an altitude of 400 meters, the crew was instructed to take a course of 95° and were warned about the absence of radar monitoring in the area of 6 km of the runway. After receiving this information, the crew decided not to do a go-around. On approach to Berdyansk at 11:20:15, the crew reported entering the glide path at 8600 meters, then were instructed to drop 400 meters. At 11:20:24 they were given permission to land at Berdyansk. At 11:20:25 weather observers at the request of the dispatcher gave weather information about the storm, downpour, windspeed, and visibility. Scud and cumulonimbus clouds were observed at a height of 210m and wind was 280° at 8 km/h with gusts up to 11 km/h. Visibility was reported to be limited to 500m. At 11:21 the pilot, questioning the visibility of 500 meters, attempted to assess visibility using his instruments, but in violation procedures did not disclose this to the controller. The plane landed about 5,000 ft down the 8,000+ ft runway while being too fast on the touchdown, and then hydroplaned. The pilot, not being quite sure about the plane's whereabouts on the runway, had then attempted to take off again, rolled off the departure end of the runway, and aborted the take-off attempt. The plane hit several trees, broke apart, then caught fire. Five passengers died at the scene, with one more passenger and two flight attendants dying later from their injuries.
Causes
Cited among the multiple causes of the crash was the decision to land at Berdyansk Airport despite the weather conditions and poor visibility. The committee also cited poor human resource management at the control tower and weather station. The lack of accurate weather data given to the crew was cited as a contributing factor.
