Investigation Summary
On January 15, 2009, four Il-76 aircraft from the 675th Special Aviation Regiment were conducting a mission to transport military personnel and equipment from Chkalovsky Air Base to Makhachkala. The weather at Uytash Airport was poor, with fog reducing runway visibility to 800 meters and vertical visibility to 60 meters. The first aircraft landed without incident. The second aircraft, RA-76825, landed and taxied to a runway access point. While waiting for the third aircraft to land, RA-76825 crossed the taxiway end line, placing it in close proximity to the runway, but the crew did not report this specific position to Air Traffic Control. The third aircraft, RA-76827, landed in the fog but failed to maintain the centerline, drifting 15 to 20 meters to the left. Its wing sliced through the cockpit of RA-76825, instantly killing four of the seven crew members on board the stationary plane. The landing aircraft, carrying 31 people, suffered no injuries.
Final Conclusions
The collision was attributed to a combination of pilot error, air traffic control failures, and infrastructure non-compliance. The crew of the landing aircraft (RA-76827) failed to maintain the runway centerline in visibility below their authorized minimums and landed with landing lights off. The crew of the stationary aircraft (RA-76825) failed to report their position after crossing the taxiway hold short line. A significant contributing factor was that the hold short line on taxiway 2 was improperly placed at 91.30 meters from the runway centerline instead of the required 120 meters. Additionally, ATC failed to coordinate aircraft positions effectively and provided unsatisfactory meteorological information to the crews.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
2009 Makhachkala IL-76 Collision Animated (CBPC) — An animation and breakdown of the ground collision between two Ilyushin Il-76MD transports at Uytash Airport.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs RA-76825 — Ilyushin Il-76MD · RA-76825
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs RA-76827 — Ilyushin Il-76MD · RA-76827
Systems & Failure Modes
Taxiway Markings
The crew of RA-76825 crossed the taxiway end line (hold short line), placing the aircraft's nose and cockpit within the safety buffer of the active runway.
Instrument Landing System (ILS)
The landing aircraft was operating in 'minimum established weather' conditions, requiring precise adherence to localizer guidance which was not maintained.
Interesting Facts
- 01The accident occurred in visibility conditions of 800m horizontal and 60m vertical.
- 02RA-76825 was stationary at the time of the collision.
- 03The landing aircraft (RA-76827) was carrying 25 passengers and 6 crew; all survived without injury.
- 04Material damage from the collision was estimated at 158.7 million rubles.
- 05RA-76827 was repaired at the 123rd Aircraft Repair Plant and returned to service in December 2010.
- 06RA-76825 (MSN 1003404136) was manufactured in 1990.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Infrastructure Correction
The investigation identified that the taxiway hold short markings at Makhachkala Airport were not compliant with safety standards, being placed too close to the runway centerline. Recommendations were made to bring airport ground markings and safety buffers into compliance with federal aviation regulations.
ATC Procedure Review
The report highlighted uncoordinated actions by air traffic controllers. Safety actions included a review of ATC procedures regarding aircraft positioning reports and the accuracy of meteorological data transmission to flight crews during low-visibility operations.