1995 Antonov An-70 prototype crash

The 1995 Antonov An-70 prototype crash was a mid-air collision that occurred on 10 February 1995. At 16:09 Central European Time, the first prototype of the Antonov An-70 cargo aircraft crashed during a test flight in Kiev Oblast after it collided with an escorting Antonov An-72 and fell into a forested area. None of the seven crew, all members of Antonov's flight testing team, survived. The damaged An-72 managed to land safely at Gostomel Airport where the two aircraft, both belonging to Antonov, were based.

Causes

A Ukrainian led commission reported that the cause was human error and blamed the flight maneuvers by the crew as the major contributing factor to the crash. Leonid Berestov is quoted as saying "The careless actions of both crews in their formation flying led to a collision and crash."

Several faults were observed in the three test flights that took place before the accident flight, including flight control problems during the second flight and again during the third flight, on the day preceding the crash.

References

• (Russian) Светлая память погибшим // Авиация и Время. - К. : 1995. - №1. - Стр.25. (Obituary in Aviatsiya i Vremia journal, including photogallery of the crew).