Investigation Summary
The investigation into the crash of CCCP-45028 focused on the short duration between engine start and takeoff. The aircraft departed less than two minutes after the engines were started, which may not have allowed the gyroscopic attitude indicators (ADIs) to fully stabilize. Furthermore, investigators found evidence suggesting that water had entered the ADI mechanism, causing it to malfunction. This instrument failure, combined with the cockpit configuration where a trainee was at the controls and the senior crew members were not in their stations to assist, resulted in the trainee pilot inadvertently increasing the pitch to a critical angle. The aircraft banked left and struck a snow-covered field 2,300 meters beyond the runway end. While 9 crew members and 16 passengers died at the scene, 14 passengers initially survived; however, five more succumbed to their injuries in the hospital, bringing the total death toll to 30.
Final Conclusions
The exact cause was not determined with absolute certainty, but the most probable cause was a loss of control resulting from a dysfunctional attitude indicator. The failure was attributed to moisture ingress and insufficient warm-up time for the gyroscopes before takeoff.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Systems & Failure Modes
Attitude Direction Indicator (ADI)
The primary instrument used by pilots to determine the aircraft's orientation relative to the horizon; suspected to have failed due to water ingress and insufficient gyro stabilization time.
Soloviev D-20P Engines
The two low-bypass turbofan engines powering the Tu-124V.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was de-iced prior to takeoff.
- 02A trainee captain was flying from the left seat while a check captain occupied the right seat.
- 03The primary Captain and First Officer were in the passenger cabin during the takeoff phase.
- 04The aircraft had accumulated only 1,612 flight hours at the time of the accident.
- 05Five passengers initially survived the impact but died later in the hospital.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Gyroscope Warm-up Procedures
The investigation highlighted that the accident occurred less than two minutes after engine start, which was insufficient for the gyroscopic attitude indicators to stabilize. Procedures were reinforced to ensure adequate warm-up time for flight instruments before commencing takeoff, especially in cold or damp conditions.