Investigation Summary
The aircraft was operating a scheduled flight from Georgia to Moscow with 114 passengers and 8 crew members. During the approach to Domodedovo Airport at night, the aircraft suffered a failure of its electrical power supply. This failure specifically affected the compass system and the main gyroscopic artificial horizons. Deprived of reliable attitude and heading information while flying in clouds with visibility of only 2,400 meters, the crew became spatially disoriented. After executing a right turn where the bank angle exceeded 40 degrees, the pilots attempted to correct their attitude but inadvertently entered a sharp left bank that reached 70 to 75 degrees. The aircraft entered a high-speed spiral dive and struck the ground in a field approximately 16 kilometers northwest of the airport.
Final Conclusions
The investigation determined that the primary cause was the failure of the aircraft's compass system and artificial horizons due to an electrical power interruption. This failure, occurring during a critical phase of flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), led to the crew's loss of spatial orientation. The pilots were unable to determine the aircraft's actual attitude, leading to an over-correction of a minor bank that resulted in a fatal steep spiral dive.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Systems & Failure Modes
Artificial Horizon
The primary gyroscopic instrument used to show the aircraft's orientation relative to the horizon; its failure led to spatial disorientation.
Compass System
The directional navigation system which failed due to electrical issues, leaving the crew unable to determine their heading.
Electrical Power Supply
The failure of this system disabled the critical flight instruments required for flight in low visibility.
Interesting Facts
- 01The accident is the deadliest involving the Tupolev Tu-104 aircraft type.
- 02The 122 souls on board consisted of 114 passengers and 8 crew members.
- 03The aircraft was reconfigured from its original 100-seat layout to 115 seats.
- 04Visibility at the time of the approach was approximately 2,400 metres.
- 05The aircraft hit the ground in a steep left bank of approximately 75 degrees.
- 06The debris field measured approximately 248 by 180 metres.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Instrument Reliability Review
The accident highlighted recurring issues with the Tu-104's artificial horizon and electrical systems, which had contributed to several other Aeroflot crashes (Flights 1912, 2415, and 3932).