1942 Aeroflot Tupolev ANT-20bis crash

1942 Aeroflot Tupolev ANT-20bis crash

CCCP-L760, the aircraft involved
Accident
Date	December 14, 1942 (1942-12-14)
Summary	Loss of control
Site	86 km (53 mi) southwest of Tashkent
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Tupolev PS-124
Operator	Aeroflot
Registration	SSSR-L760 (Cyrillic: СССР-Л760)
Flight origin	Urgench, Uzbek SSR
Stopover	Chardzhou, Turkmen SSR
Destination	Tashkent, Uzbek SSR
Passengers	26
Crew	10
Fatalities	36
Injuries	0
Survivors	0

On 14 December 1942, a Tupolev ANT-20bis aircraft operated by Russian airline Aeroflot crashed during a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Urgench to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. All 36 people on board died, and the accident was due to a loss of control.

Flight

On 12 December the aircraft flew from Urgench to Chardzhou (now Türkmenabat) with 85 passengers and 1,925 kg (4,244 lb) of cargo. Two days later at 11:50, the aircraft took off for Tashkent with 26 passengers and 10 crew, flying at 500 m (1,600 ft). Two hours and 10 minutes into the flight, the aircraft suddenly pitched down and entered a steep dive, crashing into the ground at an 80° angle in the steppe 3 km (1.9 mi) northeast of the "Pakhta-Aral" state farm (86 km (53 mi) southwest of Tashkent Airport). None of the 36 on board survived.

Investigation

It was revealed that the pilot had left the cockpit and had allowed a passenger to take control of the aircraft. While at the controls, the passenger disengaged the autopilot, sending the aircraft into a dive.

See also

• List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft

External links

• Profile of the crash at the Flight Safety Network (ASN)
• Profile of the crash at airdisaster.ru