Aeroflot Flight 164

Aeroflot Flight 164

Accident
Date	7 September 1958 (1958-09-07)
Summary	Loss of control following lightning strike
Site	4 km SSE of Konstantinovka, Martuk District, Aktobe Region, Kazakh SSR 50°26′N 56°07′E
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Ilyushin Il-14P
Operator	Aeroflot
Registration	СССР-Л1692
Flight origin	Frunze Airport, Frunze
Stopover	Aktyubinsk Airport, Aktyubinsk
Destination	Vnukovo Airport, Moscow
Passengers	22
Crew	5
Fatalities	27
Survivors	0

Aeroflot Flight 164 was an aviation accident involving an Il-14P aircraft which occurred on 7 September 1958 in Kazakhstan in the Martuk District, Aktobe Region. All 27 people on board died in the crash.

Aircraft

The Il-14P with the tail number Л1692 (factory number 7342304, serial number 23-04) was produced by the Tashkent Aviation Plant on 18 January 1957 and was soon transferred to the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, which assigned it to the Kyrgyz Independent Air Group of the Civil Air Fleet. At the time of the crash, the aircraft had a total flight time of 2,564 hours.

Accident

The aircraft was operating flight 164 from Frunze (now Bishkek) to Moscow, piloted by a crew consisting of Captain (CPT) Ivan Ignatievich Shinkarsky, First Officer Nikolai Grigoryevich Ryabov, Flight Engineer Andrey Petrovich Evich, and radio operator Alexander Gavrilovich Kositsin. The cabin was attended by stewardess Vera Vasilyevna Shulga. At 02:10 Moscow Time (MSK), the Il-14 made an intermediate stop at Aktyubinsk (now Aktobe) for refueling. After refueling, the aircraft took off at 02:55 with a magnetic course of 127° and soon reached an altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). On board were 22 passengers (18 adults and 4 children), as well as 402 kilograms (886 lb) of cargo (magnetic starters). According to the weather forecast provided to the crew, the flight route from Aktyubinsk to Uralsk was expected to have stratus clouds of 6–9 oktas at an altitude of 600–1,000 metres (2,000–3,300 ft), rain, and visibility of 4–10 kilometres (2.5–6.2 mi).

At 03:04, the captain reported to the airport dispatcher that they had reached an altitude of 1,500 meters and were leaving the airport's air zone. At 03:05, they established communication with the Regional Dispatch Center (RDC) and continued the flight at 1,500 meters. At 03:07, the crew contacted the dispatcher at Aktobe Airport again and requested their bearing. They received the response one minute later—274°. This indicated that the aircraft was on course, 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Aktobe. At 03:11, the crew requested the actual weather conditions in Uralsk. The dispatcher reported back—10-okta (solid) stratus clouds at an altitude of 300–600 metres (980–1,970 ft), intermittent rain, visibility 4–10 kilometres (2.5–6.2 mi). At 03:14, the dispatcher requested confirmation of the altitude and flight conditions, to which the aircraft reported: "1,500 meters, visual, communication with RDC established". At 03:23, the dispatcher called the aircraft Л1692 again, but this time the crew did not respond, and the aircraft's signal was absent from the radar screen. At the same time, the radar showed unusually strong reflections, indicating powerful thunderstorms.

According to data from the Novoalekseyevka meteorological station, located 45 kilometres (28 mi) southwest of the air route, thunderstorms were observed to the east, in the vicinity of the air route. Many witnesses also confirmed the presence of a thunderstorm. As a result, the Il-14, flying at night, unexpectedly encountered a powerful thunderstorm. Lightning struck the aircraft on the left side, entering through the hatch near the control cables for the left aileron, an event witnessed by two shepherds in the steppe. The lightning strike severed and melted the cables, and the electrical discharge traveled along them into the cockpit, potentially paralyzing the crew or shocking them. Losing control, the aircraft began descending with a left turn and slip on the right wing, with engines still running. At approximately 03:18 MSK, the aircraft, with a 60° bank angle, struck the ground with its right wing in the Martuk District of the Aktobe Region, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the air route, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south-southeast of the village of Konstantinovka, and 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Aktobe. The Il-14 exploded upon impact, scattering debris over an area of 450–520 metres (1,480–1,710 ft). All 27 people on board perished. The crew members of the ill-fated flight 164 were buried at the Northern Cemetery in Frunze (Bishkek) on 16 August 2022.

Causes

According to the commission's findings, the cause of the accident was a lightning strike on the aircraft, which was supported by the following evidence:

1. The presence of thunderstorm activity in the flight zone.
2. The burning and severing of the left aileron control cables occurred due to concentrated exposure to high temperatures. Found parts of the aircraft, located 10–15 centimeters away from the burn site, did not show any signs of high-temperature exposure.
3. The crew did not have time to transmit a distress signal.
4. The descent was rapid, uncontrolled, and at high speed.
5. The crew did not use equipment that would have facilitated an emergency landing outside the airport at night (PAR-8, lights, flares).
6. There were witness testimonies from two shepherds who saw a flash near the aircraft and then its uncontrolled descent.

The commission found the following individuals responsible for the incident:

1. The staff of the Aktobe airport meteorological station, who did not indicate thunderstorms in the weather forecast.
2. The observer at the Novoalekseyevka meteorological station, who noted the thunderstorm but did not report it to the Aktobe meteorological station, which was required.
3. The flight director, for insufficient attention to the study of meteorological conditions and unsatisfactory monitoring of the aircraft's movement.