Aeroflot Flight 1492
_(2).jpg) The aircraft involved seen in 2017 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 May 2019 |
| Summary | Crash landing; under investigation |
| Site | Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia 55°58′09″N 37°24′11″E / 55.96917°N 37.40306°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Sukhoi Superjet 100 |
| Aircraft name | Mustai Karim |
| Operator | Aeroflot |
| IATA flight No. | SU1492 |
| ICAO flight No. | AFL1492 |
| Call sign | AEROFLOT 1492 |
| Registration | RA-89098 |
| Flight origin | Sheremetyevo International Airport |
| Destination | Murmansk Airport |
| Occupants | 78 |
| Passengers | 73 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 41 |
| Injuries | 11 |
| Missing | 0 |
| Survivors | 37 |
Aeroflot Flight 1492 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow to Murmansk Airport in Russia. On 5 May 2019, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft operating the flight returned to Sheremetyevo shortly after take-off, bouncing on landing and causing the landing gear to collapse. The aircraft caught fire and slid on its belly to a standstill. Out of the 78 occupants onboard, 41 were killed and 11 injured.
This was the second fatal accident of a Sukhoi Superjet 100 after the Mount Salak crash in 2012, and the first fatal accident for Aeroflot since Aeroflot Flight 821 in 2008.
Aircraft
The aircraft was a Russian-manufactured Sukhoi Superjet 100 with the registration RA-89098 and MSN (manufacturer's serial number) 95135, which first flew in 2017.[1] It was delivered to Aeroflot on 27 September 2017.[2]
Accident
Flight 1492 took off from Sheremetyevo International Airport for Murmansk Airport on 5 May 2019 at 18:02 local time (15:02 UTC).[3] It stopped its climb at flight level 100 (approx. 10,000 ft or 3,000 m above sea level), circled to the NE of the airport in the region of Zhostovo, Pestovo and Uchinskoye Vodokhranilische and turned back.[4] The transponder code was changed to 7600 (to indicate radio failure) at 15:11 UTC and subsequently to 7700 (emergency) at 15:25 UTC, while Flight 1492 was on final approach to runway 24L.[5] The aircraft bounced on landing, and on the third and final touchdown the landing gear collapsed and a fire erupted, which quickly engulfed the wings, rear fuselage and empennage. The aircraft slid down the runway and veered to the left before coming to a standstill, about 27 minutes after take-off. The aircraft was evacuated from the front passenger doors and their emergency slides were deployed. The rear half of the aircraft was destroyed by the fire, which was extinguished about 45 minutes after landing.[3][6][7]
According to passengers who survived the crash landing and fire, lightning struck the aircraft shortly after takeoff. The pilot reported that lightning caused the aircraft to lose communication with air traffic control.[8] The Aviation Herald reported that lightning struck the plane at an altitude of 6,900 ft (2,100 m), which disabled some of the aircraft's electronic equipment, including radio communications and the autopilot.[3] However, lightning striking aircraft is a common occurrence, and modern aircraft are designed to withstand it.[8]
| Nationality | Deaths |
|---|---|
| Russia | ? |
| United States | 1 |
| Total | 41 |
Russia's Investigative Committee announced that out of the five crew and 73 passengers, 37 people had survived the accident[9] and that the other 41 on board, including one crew member and one American had died.[10] During the evacuation, passengers were seen carrying hand luggage off the aircraft after sliding down the inflatable slides.
Investigation
The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) opened an investigation into the accident. On 6 May 2019, the IAC said in a press release that both flight recorders had been recovered. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was found in satisfactory condition but the flight data recorder (FDR) casing was damaged by exposure to extremely high temperatures and IAC specialists were working to extract the data.[3] BBC News reported the investigation is considering the possibility of pilot error in view of several non-standard features of the flight, including the landing.[11]
References
- ^ "RA-89098 accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ "RA-89098 Aeroflot - Russian Airlines Sukhoi Superjet 100". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d Hradecky, Simon (6 May 2019). "Accident: Aeroflot SU95 at Moscow on May 5th 2019, aircraft bursts into flames during rollout and burns down". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ Playback of flight SU1492 / AFL1492 flightradar24.com, accessed 7 May 2019
- ^ @flightradar24 (6 May 2019). "Flightradar24 tweet regarding squawk codes of SU1492" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Aeroflot indicates Superjet engines caught fire on landing". Flight Global. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ A video showed 'the plane making a very bumpy landing, bursting into flames after bouncing on the tarmac' bbc.co.uk/news, accessed 6 May 2019
- ^ a b "Russia crash jet 'struck by lightning'". BBC News. 6 May 2019.
- ^ "СК: из 78 человек на борту самолета "Аэрофлота" выжили 37" [SK: 37 of the 78 people on board the Aeroflot aircraft survived]. Meduza (in Russian). 5 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Troianovski, Anton; Fritz, Angela; Ferris-Rotman, Amie (5 May 2019). "Russian passenger jet catches fire on runway in Moscow, killing 41 people". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ "Aeroflot plane crash: Pilot error theory probed". BBC. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.