1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash
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|
 A Li-2 similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 7 January 1950 |
| Summary | Crashed in adverse weather |
| Site | Koltsovo Airport, Sverdlovsk, USSR |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Lisunov Li-2 (license-built DC-3) |
| Operator |  Soviet Air Forces |
| Registration | 42 Red[1] |
| Flight origin | Vnukovo Airport, Moscow, USSR |
| Destination | Chelyabinsk Airport, Chelyabinsk |
| Occupants | 19 |
| Passengers | 13 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 19 |
| Survivors | 0 |
The Sverdlovsk plane crash of 7 January 1950 killed all 19 people on board, including almost the entire ice hockey team (VVS Moscow) of the Soviet Air Forces – 11 players, as well as a team doctor and a masseur. The team was on board a twin-engined Lisunov Li-2 transport aircraft, a licensed Soviet-built version of the DC-3, heading to a match against Dzerzhinets Chelyabinsk. Due to poor weather at Chelyabinsk, the flight diverted to Sverdlovsk. The crew attempted four approaches but during the fifth approach to Koltsovo Airport the aircraft crashed near the airport in a heavy snowstorm with strong winds.[2]
Among those killed in the crash was goalkeeper Harijs Mellups.
Aftermath
[edit]The crash was covered up by Vasiliy Stalin, the son of Joseph Stalin and the team's manager, who immediately recruited a new team without his father's knowledge.[3][4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Accident description for 42 red at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 8 October 2013.
- ^ "Athletes – Famous Olympic Athletes, Medalists, Sports Heroes". 9 May 2017.
- ^ Ellen Barry; Andrew E. Kramer (7 September 2011). "Crash Wipes Out Elite Russian Hockey Team, Killing Several Veterans of the N.H.L." The New York Times. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ Kevin Sherrington (13 February 1992). "Remembering hockey tragedy". The Miami Herald. The Dallas Morning News. p. 9D. Retrieved 17 March 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather
- Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union
- 20th-century aviation accidents and incidents in Russia
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 1950
- 1950 in the Soviet Union
- Aviation accidents and incidents involving professional sports teams
- 1949–50 in Soviet ice hockey
- January 1950 events in Europe
- Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-3
- 1950 disasters in the Soviet Union