Investigation Summary
The approach to Irkutsk was characterized by poor energy management. The crew arrived at the initial approach points with excessive speed, necessitating a series of maneuvers to slow down. During the third turn of the approach pattern, the First Officer was flying the aircraft while the autopilot was engaged in altitude-hold mode. As the speed dropped below the recommended threshold for the configuration, the autopilot increased the angle of attack to maintain altitude. When a high angle of attack warning sounded, the First Officer disconnected the autopilot and made an instinctive but incorrect left-wing-down input, increasing the bank angle to 48 degrees. The Captain took control but became spatially disoriented in the clouds, making erratic inputs. In the final seconds, a panicked pull on the control column caused the aircraft to pitch up into a deep stall and flat spin.
Final Conclusions
The Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) concluded the accident resulted from the crew's failure to maintain flight parameters and their subsequent erroneous control inputs. Specifically, the lack of coordination between the Captain and First Officer during the upset recovery led to a transition from a steep bank into a terminal stall. Contributing factors included the crew's loss of situational awareness regarding the aircraft's spatial orientation while flying in clouds at night.
Video Analysis
CVR - Vladivostok Avia Air Flight 352 - Stalled on approach — On 4 July 2001, Vladivostok Air Flight 352 lost control, stalled, and crashed while approaching Irkutsk Airport, killing all 145 people on board.
Watch on YouTube ↗If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Systems & Failure Modes
Autopilot (ABS-154)
Maintained altitude as speed bled off, automatically increasing the angle of attack to the point of warning.
Angle of Attack Warning System
Alerted the crew when the aircraft reached 16.5 degrees, triggering the sequence of manual overcorrections.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was a Tupolev Tu-154M previously operated by CAAC and China Northwest Airlines.
- 02All 145 people on board, including 136 passengers and 9 crew members, were killed.
- 03The crash occurred during the third turn of the approach pattern while the aircraft was in clouds.
- 04The Captain had over 13,000 total flying hours, with 3,661 hours on the Tu-154.
- 05The aircraft was named 'Ussuriysk' and had only flown 390 hours with Vladivostok Air since being leased.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Crew Resource Management Training
The investigation emphasized the need for improved CRM and coordination during upset recovery, particularly when transitioning control between pilots in high-stress situations.