| Aeroflot Flight 213 | |
| Summary: | Controlled flight into terrain aggravated by inclement weather and pilot error |
| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Origin: | Magadan Airport |
| Stopover0: | Berelakh |
| Stopover1: | Zyryanka |
| Last Stopover: | Chersky Airport |
| Destination: | Keperveyem Airport |
| Occupants: | 32 |
| Passengers: | 27 |
| Crew: | 5 |
| Fatalities: | 32 |
| Survivors: | 0 |
| Aircraft Type: | Ilyushin Il-14M |
| Operator: | Aeroflot |
| Tail Number: | CCCP-61628 |
Aeroflot Flight 213 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight operated by Aeroflot from Chersky Airport to Keperveyem Airport. On 18 September 1962, the Ilyushin Il-14 operating this flight crashed shortly after takeoff. All 27 passengers and five crew members were killed.
The Air Accident Investigation Commission determined that pilot error was the main cause of the accident.
Weather conditions at the time of the flight were poor. Visibility was 4–10 km in light snow with a cloud base of 600–700 meters. Flight 213 departed Chersky Airport at 06:20. The normal procedure involved circling above the valley while climbing to an altitude above surrounding terrain. This procedure was not followed and the crew flew on a heading directly to Keperveyem Airport. At an altitude of 800 meters and climbing, flying in clouds the aircraft impacted a 975 meter tall mountain. The Ilyushin was destroyed and there was a post collision fire. There were no survivors.[1] [2] [3] [4]
Construction of the Il-14M involved, serial number 146000929 09-29, was completed at the Moscow Banner of Labor production factory in 1956and it was transferred to the civil air fleet. It was powered by two Shvetsov ASh-82 radial engines and at the time of the accident, the aircraft had sustained a total of 9,858 flight hours.[1] [2] [4]
The investigating committee discovered the primary cause of the accident was the pilots decision to deviate from approved procedures. Contributing factors were a lack of appropriate air traffic control and the weather.[1] [2] [4]