Investigation Summary
The aircraft was performing a repositioning flight following a charter service between Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Sochi. At 15:25 local time, the Il-86 departed runway 07L at Sheremetyevo. Approximately two seconds after liftoff, the horizontal stabilizers suddenly moved to the maximum nose-up trim position of 12 degrees. This caused the aircraft to pitch up sharply, exceeding its critical angle of attack. The flight crew attempted to counter the pitch by pushing their control columns fully forward, but the aircraft entered a stall and banked left before crashing. Sources vary on the peak altitude reached, citing between 200 and 600 meters. The investigation was severely hampered by the post-crash fire, which destroyed the stabilizer control units, and a lack of specific data on the flight recorders regarding the stabilizer system internal state or crew verbalizations during the critical seconds.
Final Conclusions
The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) concluded that the accident was caused by the spontaneous transition of the horizontal stabilizers to the extreme nose-up position. The investigation identified two primary possibilities for this movement: an electrical failure in the stabilizer control system leading to a reverse control response, or an inadvertent action by a pilot pressing and holding the pitch-up stabilizer switch on the control column. Due to the destruction of the control units and insufficient recorder data, the specific trigger could not be determined.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 9560 Crash Animation — A reconstruction of the 2002 Il-86 crash at Sheremetyevo, detailing the sudden stabilizer trim movement and subsequent stall.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Konstantin Ivanovich Ivanov, age 51. Had 4,000 hours as captain on type.
First Officer
Vladimir Andreevich Voronov, age 52.
Flight Navigator
Valery Andreevich Shcherbina, age 51.
Flight Engineer
Boris Nikolayevich Kushnerov, age 60.
Systems & Failure Modes
Horizontal Stabilizer Control System
The system responsible for longitudinal trim; it moved to a full 12-degree nose-up position, causing the stall.
Kuznetsov NK-86 Engines
The four turbofan engines were reported to have decreased power during the descent, possibly as a result of the stall or crew action.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was 21 years old and had accumulated 18,363 flight hours.
- 02This was the first and only fatal crash involving an Ilyushin Il-86 at the time.
- 03The flight was a ferry flight with no passengers on board.
- 04Two flight attendants, Tatiana Moiseeva and Arina Vinogradova, survived the crash.
- 05Post-crash analysis of 2,000 previous flights of the same aircraft revealed frequent improper use of stabilizers by crews.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Type Certificate Suspension
The Interstate Aviation Committee temporarily suspended the Il-86's type certificate following the accident to investigate potential design flaws in the stabilizer control system.