Tupolev 124 ditching in Neva River

Tupolev 124 ditching in Neva River

Infobox Airliner accident|name=Tupolev 124 ditching in Neva river
Date=August 21,1963|Type=Fuel exhaustion
Site=Leningrad, Soviet Union
Fatalities=0|Injuries=0
Aircraft Type=Tupolev Tu-124|Operator=Aeroflot|Tail Number=СССР-45021
Passengers=45|Crew=7|Survivors = 52 (All)
The Tupolev 124 ditching in Neva River was a notable case of water landing that occurred in the Soviet Union in 1963. It remains one of 7 documented intentional water ditchings of passenger planes [http://www.rescue007.org/faq.htm#14] (There have been survivors for all attempts).

A Tupolev Tu-124 of Soviet state airline "Aeroflot" (Moscow division) took off from Tallinn-Ulemiste Airport (TLL) at 08:55 on August 21, 1963 with 45 passengers and 7 crew on board. The aircraft (registration number СCСР-45021) was built in 1962 and was scheduled to fly to Moscow under command of 27 year-old captain Vladimir Mostovoy. After the liftoff it appeared the undercarriage (forward wheels under the cockpit) didn't retract. By decision of the ground control the flight diverted to Leningrad (because of fog at Tallinn) at low altitude.

At 10:00 the aircraft started to circle the city at 1650 feet with objective of spending the fuel to decrease risk of fire in event of forced landing. The ground services at Pulkovo Airport (LED) were preparing the dirt runway for the forced landing. Each loop in the airspace around the city took the aircraft approximately 15 minutes. During this time the crew attempted to force the nose gear to lock into the fully extended position by pushing it with a pole (having taken a pole used for hangers in the cloak compartment closet).

When participating in a show aired on Russian television (in the late 1990s, more than 35 years after the events) the co-pilot speculated that preoccupation with the nose gear might have lead the crew to miss the moment when the remaining fuel became insufficient for flight to Pulkovo and safe descent. The eighth and last loop was started at 12:10 when, at 13 miles from the airport, the no. 1 engine was starved of fuel and ceased to function. The remaining engine ceased shortly thereafter when the aircraft was above the city center going over the St. Isaac's Cathedral and Admiralty in eastern direction. Upon loss of both engines it occurred to the captain and co-pilot that the only hope was to ditch the craft in the 300-metre wide Neva River.

By account of eyewitnesses, the airplane descended along the river (going in upstream direction) and passing Liteyny Bridge at an altitude of less than 300 feet. Immediately after the turn the craft glided over the high steel structures of Bolsheokhtinsky Bridge with approximately 100 feet of clearance. Tu-124 flew right over the under-construction Alexander Nevsky Bridge barely missing it, and managed to complete the ditching onto the river surface almost hitting an old steam tugboat at the last moment.

The duration of the descent was estimated to be less than 30 seconds. Eyewitness' accounts and memories of the aircraft's crew agree that the tugboat which escaped the crash approached the floating aircraft's cockpit without missing a single moment and then immediately started towing it ashore. All passengers remained on board as the floating aircraft was moved to shallow waters and evacuated the cabin passing to the boat through the windows of cockpit that started flooding.

References

* "Soviet Transports" series, also "Ditch or crash-land?" B.W. Townshend, 1965 (pp 47-49)
* Accident description at [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19630821-2&lang=en| Aviation Safety Network]
* Eyewitness account at [http://forum.rcdesign.ru/lofiversion/index.php/t43772-50.html| forum.rcdesign.ru (In Russian)]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Neva River — Neva redirects here. For other uses, see Neva (disambiguation). Coordinates: 59°57′50″N 30°13′20″E / 59.96389°N 30.22222°E / 5 …   Wikipedia

  • US Airways Flight 1549 — The downed US Airways Flight 1549 floating on the Hudson River Accident summary Date …   Wikipedia

  • Amerrissage — d une capsule Apollo. L amerrissage est, à l origine, le mouvement par lequel un hydravion se pose à la surface de l eau (mer, lac ou fleuve). Un amerrissage est également un atterrissage d urgence sur un plan d eau. Cette situation est instruite …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Mostovoï —  Cette page d’homonymie répertorie des personnes (réelles ou fictives) partageant un même patronyme. Mostovoï est un patronyme russe. Il désigne à l origine une personne collectant une taxe de passage sur un pont. Le mot « pont »… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • 1963 in aviation — yearbox in?=in aviation cp=19th Century c=20th century cf=21st century yp1=1960 yp2=1961 yp3=1962 year=1963 ya1=1964 ya2=1965 ya3=1966 dp3=1930s dp2=1940s dp1=1950s d=1960s dn1=1970s dn2=1980s dn3=1990sThis is a list of aviation related events… …   Wikipedia

  • Water landing — Ditching redirects here. For the intentional delinquence from compulsory schooling, see truancy. A water landing is, in the broadest sense, any landing on a body of water. All waterfowl, those seabirds capable of flight, and some human built… …   Wikipedia

  • Emergency landing — For other uses, see Emergency landing (disambiguation). Crash landing redirects here. For other uses, see Crash landing (disambiguation). JetBlue Airways Flight 292 making an emergency landing at LAX An emergency landing is a landing made by an… …   Wikipedia

  • New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441 — Accident summary Date 3 July 1963 Type Wind shear Site …   Wikipedia

  • Mohawk Airlines Flight 121 — Accident summary Date July 2, 1963 Type Pilot error, bad weather as a contributing factor Site …   Wikipedia

  • Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293 — Occurrence summary Date 3 June 1963 Type Undetermined Site …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”