avia.wikisort.org - Event

Aeroflot Flight 811 was a scheduled Soviet domestic passenger flight from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Blagoveshchensk that collided mid-air on 24 August 1981 with a Tupolev Tu-16K strategic bomber over Zavitinsky District in Amur Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia). The collision between Aeroflot's Antonov An-24RV and Tupolev Tu-16K occurred at an altitude of 5,220 metres (17,130 ft), killing 37 people on both aircraft. The sole survivor, 20-year-old passenger Larisa Savitskaya from Antonov An-24RV, was rescued on the third day after the accident.

Aeroflot Flight 811

Accident
Date	24 August 1981
Summary	Mid-air collision
Site	70 km (43.8 mls) E of Zavitinsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) 50°01′10″N 130°28′00″E
Total fatalities	37
Total injuries	1
Total survivors	1
First aircraft
An Aeroflot An-24RV similar to the accident aircraft
Type	Antonov An-24RV
Operator	Aeroflot
Registration	CCCP-46653
Flight origin	Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport (UUS)
Stopover	Komsomolsk-on-Amur Airport (KXK)
Destination	Blagoveshchensk Airport (BQS/UHBB)
Passengers	27
Crew	5
Fatalities	31
Injuries	1
Survivors	1
Second aircraft
A Tu-16K similar to the accident aircraft
Type	Tupolev Tu-16K
Operator	Soviet Air Forces
Registration	07514 (call sign)
Flight origin	Zavitinsk air base
Destination	Zavitinsk air base
Crew	6
Fatalities	6
Survivors	0

Background and collision

Antonov An-24RV departed from Komsomolsk-on-Amur at 14:56 local time, after a four-hour delay due to weather conditions. The crew consisted of first pilot Alexander Mirgorodsky, co-pilot Valery Shevelev, navigating officer Fedosy Kryzhanovsky, flight engineer Nikolai Dimitriyev and flight attendant Galina Borisova.[1] Among the passengers was one child.[1] Larisa Savitskaya and her husband Vladimir were returning from their honeymoon.

The flight dispatcher was informed that the local airspace would be traversed by military aircraft at an altitudes of 4,200–4,500 metres (13,800–14,800 ft).[1] On the same day, at 16:00 and 16:01 local time two Tupolev Tu-16Ks left Zavitinsk air base for weather reconnaissance. At 16:21 local time, one of them (serial number 6203106) collided with the Aeroflot An-24RV, 70 km east of Zavitinsk air base.[1] The collision occurred in good lighting conditions, with a visibility of over 10 km.[1] Savitskaya was sound asleep at that moment.[2] The Tu-16K razed off the An-24RV's roof and severed both wings.[2] The temperature inside An-24RV's cabin dropped from 25 °C (77 °F) to −30 °C (−22 °F).[3] Both aircraft disintegrated and fell on taiga terrain. The fragments of Antonov An-24RV were scattered in a south-western direction, 1020 m from the collision point, on a 2,500 by 900 metres (8,200 by 3,000 ft) area. The Tu-16K exploded after the ground impact, its fragments were scattered approximately 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) from the collision point.[1]

Savitskaya was conscious during the fall, which lasted eight minutes.[2] She survived partly because the 4-by-3-metre (13.1 by 9.8 ft) aircraft fragment she was in started to glide[3] and landed on a soft, swampy glade. Savitskaya also pushed against the seat with her hands and feet, "perhaps hoping to absorb the blow" in her own words.[2] The impact with the ground, however, knocked her temporarily unconscious.[2] She sustained a concussion, a broken arm and rib and some spinal injuries.[2]

Investigation

The investigation concluded that the flight operations director at Zavitinsk air base did not use radar assistance to track the Tupolevs, which became the direct cause of the accident.[1] Additionally, there was a poor coordination between the local civilian and military air traffic control due to flawed air traffic regulations.[1] Military prosecutors placed the responsibility for the accident on the pilots of both aircraft.[2]

Aftermath

The first reports about the accident in the Soviet press were censored, saying Savitskaya had crashed in a homemade glider.[2] Savitskaya was warned by the KGB not to reveal the accident to the public; she spoke openly about the accident for the first time on 11 January 2001 in Moscow. Savitskaya was paid 75 Soviet rubles ($20) compensation by Aeroflot.

Portrayal in films

The One, disaster-survival adventure film based on the real events. The film tells the story of Savitskaya's life, catastrophe and rescue.

See also

• List of sole survivors of airline accidents or incidents
• Vesna Vulović

References

External links

• Accident description (Aviation Safety Network)

На других языках

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[de] Aeroflot-Flug 811

Am 24. August 1981 kollidierte eine Antonow An-24 auf dem zweiten Abschnitt des innersowjetischen Linienfluges Aeroflot-Flug 811 von Juschno-Sachalinsk über Komsomolsk am Amur nach Blagoweschtschensk mit einer Tupolew Tu-16 der sowjetischen Luftwaffe in der Luft. Die damals 20 Jahre alte Larissa Sawizkaja überlebte als einzige unter den insgesamt 38 Insassen beider Flugzeuge.

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- [en] Aeroflot Flight 811

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[fr] Vol Aeroflot 811

Le vol Aeroflot 811 était un vol intérieur soviétique, de passagers, régulier reliant Komsomolsk-sur-l'Amour à Blagovechtchensk qui entra en collision en vol le 24 août 1981 avec un bombardier stratégique Tupolev Tu-16K au-dessus du district de Zavitinsky dans l'oblast d'Amour, dans la république socialiste fédérative soviétique de Russie, en Union soviétique (maintenant la Russie). La collision entre l’Antonov An-24RV d'Aeroflot et le Tupolev Tu-16K se produisit à une altitude de 5 220 mètres (17 130 pieds), tuant 37 personnes réparties dans les deux appareils. La seule survivante, une passagère de l’Antonov An-24RV, Larisa Savitskaya, âgée de 20 ans fut secourue trois jours après l'accident.

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[ru] Столкновение над Завитинском

Столкновение над Завитинском — авиационная катастрофа, произошедшая в понедельник 24 августа 1981 года. В небе над Амурской областью около Завитинска столкнулись пассажирский авиалайнер Ан-24РВ авиакомпании «Аэрофлот» (рейс SU-811 Южно-Сахалинск—Комсомольск-на-Амуре—Благовещенск) и самолёт-ракетоносец Ту-16К ВВС СССР (выполнял разведку погоды). В катастрофе погибли 37 человек — 31 на Ан-24 (26 пассажиров и 5 членов экипажа) и все 6 на Ту-16 (экипаж); выжил 1 человек — пассажирка Ан-24 Лариса Савицкая, пережившая падение с высоты 5220 метров.

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