| Date: | 18 March 1997 |
| Summary: | Structural failure of tail |
| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Site: | Cherkessk, Russia |
| Coordinates: | 44.2167°N 45°W |
| Aircraft Type: | Antonov An-24 |
| Tail Number: | RA-46516 |
| Operator: | Stavropolskaya Aktsionernaya Avia |
| Origin: | Stavropol Shpakovskoye Airport, Russia |
| Destination: | Trabzon Airport, Turkey |
| Passengers: | 44 |
| Crew: | 6 |
| Fatalities: | 50 |
| Survivors: | 0 |
Stavropolskaya Aktsionernaya Avia Flight 1023 was a charter flight between Stavropol in southern Russia and Trabzon in Turkey operated by the Russian airline Stavropolskaya Aktsionernaya Avia. On 18 March 1997, the Antonov An-24 operating the flight suffered a structural failure and crashed into a forest, killing all 50 passengers and crew on board.
The flight, which was a frequently operated charter between Stavropol and Trabzon on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, took off from Stavropol Shpakovskoye Airport, carrying 8 crew members, 41 passengers, mainly traders who planned to purchase cheap consumer goods in Turkey and one of the directors of the airline.[1] [2]
The flight was at a height of 17700feet 37 minutes after take off,[2] [3] when air traffic control lost contact with it.[1] [2]
Wreckage of the Antonov An-24 was found scattered over a wide area in a forest near the village of Prigorodny, east of Cherkessk, northern Caucasus. The tail of the plane was discovered 1.5 kilometers (0.93 miles) from the rest of the debris, suggesting that the plane may have disintegrated in mid-air. The 50 passengers on board were all killed.[1] [2]
The accident investigation found that the aircraft, which had recently returned from an extended period of service in Congo, suffered massive corrosion which had caused the aircraft's tail to break off in flight.[3] [4]
The accident was blamed on a failure to detect corrosion during inspection, with the allowable time between inspections and maintenance being exceeded.[3]