| 1952 Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-12 crash | |
| Image Upright: | 1.15 |
| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Summary: | Stall leading to spin |
| Site: | Near Novosibirsk Oblast, Russian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Aircraft Type: | Ilyushin Il-12P |
| Operator: | Aeroflot |
| Tail Number: | СССР-Л1312 |
| Origin: | Severny Airport, Novosibirsk |
| Destination: | Severny Airport, Novosibirsk |
| Occupants: | 9 |
| Crew: | 9 |
| Fatalities: | 8 |
| Survivors: | 1 |
The 1952 Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-12 crash was an aviation accident involving an Ilyushin Il-12 aircraft operated by Aeroflot, which occurred on 25 April 1952, near Novosibirsk, resulting in the deaths of 8 people.
The Il-12 (also known as the Il-12P model) with serial number 30018 and factory number 018 was produced by the "Banner of Labor" plant in Moscow on March 14, 1947. The airliner received the registration number СССР-Л1312 and was transferred to the Main Directorate of Civil Air Fleet under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, which subsequently assigned it to the 55th Air Transport Detachment of the Western Siberian Territorial Administration of Civil Air Fleet. The total flight time of the aircraft was 1,923 hours.[1]
On this flight, there were two crews on board the aircraft:
The Il-12 was performing a training flight in the vicinity of Novosibirsk Airport and took off at 14:22. The sky over Novosibirsk was completely overcast with clouds at about 200 meters, in which icing was observed; visibility was about 2 kilometers, there was a light southern wind, and wet snow was falling. This was the fourth independent duty for the flight operations manager, and the command radio station was broken, so there was no communication with aircraft L1312. However, when the airliner did not return after 2.5–3 hours, concern arose at the airport, and they even went to check the aircraft parking area, but the missing aircraft was not there. Finally, a call was received at the airport about a plane crash near the hamlet of Karmanovo. A destroyed and partially burned airliner was found at the site. Seven people died at the scene, with the aircraft commander Baranov and co-pilot Mikhailovsky surviving. Later, Mikhailovsky died from his injuries, becoming the 8th victim of the crash.[2]
According to Baranov's testimony, he himself was seated in the passenger cabin on the left in the second row during takeoff, while the aircraft was piloted by Buzovir, who was sitting in the left seat, and Sevastyanov, who was in the right seat. Sevastyanov decided to simulate a takeoff with an engine failure under cloudy conditions, so he feathered the left propeller. At an altitude of 200 meters, the Il-12 entered the clouds. Then, at an altitude of 1,200–1,250 meters, Sevastyanov deployed the landing gear and flaps and reduced the power of the operating right engine. The goal was to reduce speed in order to demonstrate to the training crews how to recover from such a situation, although this maneuver was not included in the flight exercise plan. However, having lost speed, the Il-12 entered a left turn. Realizing the critical situation, both flight radio operators ran out of the cockpit, one heading for the toilet and the other to the rear baggage compartment. The right engine was set to maximum power, while flight engineer Smirnov tried to unfeather the left propeller. The airliner then crashed tail-first into a field and was destroyed. Baranov lost consciousness upon impact.