1962 Aral Sea Li-2 crash

45°37′N 58°35′E / 45.617°N 58.583°E / 45.617; 58.583Total fatalities3Total survivors7AircraftAircraft typeLi-2OperatorAeroflot (Kazakh Territorial Division of Civil Aviation, 158th Air Squadron)RegistrationСССР-84717Flight originAralsk AirportStopoverAktumsyk
MuynakDestinationAralskOccupants10Passengers6Crew4Fatalities3Survivors7

The 1962 Aral Sea Li-2 crash was an aviation disaster that occurred on March 9, 1962, on the shores of the Aral Sea, involving a Li-2 aircraft operated by Aeroflot. The crash resulted in the deaths of 3 people.

The Li-2, tail number СССР-84717 (factory number 18429706, serial number 297-06) of the 158th Combined Air Detachment, Kazakh Territorial Division of Civil Aviation, was produced by the Tashkent Aircraft Production Association named after V. P. Chkalov in July 1948 and originally had the tail number L4509. It was re-registered in 1959 and had logged 13 738 flight hours at the time of the crash.^[1][2]

The aircraft arrived from Shymkent in Aralsk on March 8 at the request of the Aral Hydrometeorological Observatory, which requested an ice reconnaissance flight over the Aral Sea. The crew of the 158th squadron, consisting of freelance instructor-pilot Anatoliy Yakovlevich Pravdin, commander (CPT) Aleksandr Mitrofanovich Bayev, instructor-flight mechanic Ivan Vasilyevich Polev, and instructor-radio operator Dmitriy Kharitonovich Kupriyanov, piloted the aircraft. The next day, March 9, a pre-flight briefing took place, but since no hydrologist-aerologist attended, the crew did not study the specifics of ice reconnaissance flights. The flight plan outlined a route along the western and eastern coasts of the sea: Aralsk – Avan – Barsakelmes Island – Cape Aktumsyk – Lazarev Island – Tigrovyy Khvost – Muynak – Uyalı Island – Kaspa-Kulan – Aralsk. The flight plan also indicated that the aircraft would transport four meteorologists to the weather station on Cape Aktumsyk and then land at Muynak Airport. In addition to the meteorologists, the director of the meteorological station responsible for organizing the ice reconnaissance and the school director, who was flying on business to Muynak, were on board but not listed in the flight plan.^[1]

According to the weather forecast provided to the crew, fog with visibility less than 1 000 meters was expected in the north and west of the sea; in the center, scattered clouds with bases at 200–300 meters and no precipitation were expected; while in the south, upper and middle cloud layers with visibility of 4–10 kilometers were anticipated. The crew did not undergo a medical check before the flight, which the dispatcher did not verify, allowing takeoff. At 09:52 (07:52 Moscow time), the Li-2 took off from Aralsk Airport and climbed to the assigned altitude of 1 800 meters. At 11:04, the crew reported passing Barsakelmes Island at 1 800 meters, above the clouds, with the ground visible. At 11:15, the crew requested the Aralsk radio beacon, and the dispatcher confirmed its operation a minute later. After that, the crew did not contact again.^[1]

After reporting the passage of Barsakelmes Island, the crew descended without clearance from the Dzhusaly Airport dispatcher, aiming to conduct an ice reconnaissance at a heading of 220–240°. At 800 meters, the aircraft entered broken clouds and emerged at 400 meters. The instructor was piloting at this time, with horizontal visibility at 2–3 kilometers and the water surface visible. The crew aimed to reach the western shore to follow it. The instructor turned from 240° to 305° to reach the shore faster. He kept the aircraft under the clouds, which gradually lowered as they approached the shore. Around 100–150 meters, the aircraft entered fog, significantly reducing visibility.^[1]

Suddenly, through the fog, the crew saw a steep shoreline directly ahead and sharply pulled back on the control column, attempting to clear it. However, at 11:30 (09:30 Moscow time), the Li-2 struck the shore with its right wing, breaking it off. The aircraft then crashed onto a plateau 211 meters high, sliding and disintegrating. The left wing was also torn off, and the plane came to rest 226 meters from the cliff's edge, catching fire.^[1]

When the crew lost contact, no immediate search was launched, as it was assumed they had stopped overnight at a location without radio communication. Only the next morning did the search begin, and soon the wreckage was found at Cape Baigubekmurin. The flight mechanic and two meteorologists died in the crash, while the others sustained injuries. Later that day, the survivors were flown by An-2 aircraft to the regional hospital in Aralsk.^[1]

The crew grossly violated NPP GA-58 requirements by flying over water towards shore in poor weather (fog) at an altitude that did not ensure flight safety.

Additional causes: Poor organization of the crew's preparation for and release on the ice reconnaissance flight:

1. No specific procedures for conducting this flight were developed;
2. There was no flight instruction for ice reconnaissance over the Aral Sea;
3. Unauthorized individuals were on board for the purpose of disembarking at the Aktumsyk weather station and Muynak airfield.^[1]