1952 Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-12 crash

The 1952 Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-12 crash was an aviation accident involving an Ilyushin Il-12 aircraft operated by Aeroflot. The accident occurred on April 25, 1952, near Novosibirsk, resulting in the deaths of eight people.

1952 Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-12 crash

An Aeroflot Il-12, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date	25 April 1952 (1952-04-25)
Summary	Stall leading to spin
Site	Near Novosibirsk Oblast, Russian SSR, Soviet Union
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Ilyushin Il-12P
Operator	Aeroflot
Registration	СССР-Л1312
Flight origin	Severny Airport, Novosibirsk
Destination	Severny Airport, Novosibirsk
Occupants	9
Crew	9
Fatalities	8
Survivors	1

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an Il-12 (specifically the Il-12P model) with serial number 30018 and factory number 018. It was manufactured by the "Banner of Labor" plant in Moscow on March 14, 1947. The airliner was registered as СССР-Л1312 and was assigned to the 55th Air Transport Detachment of the Western Siberian Territorial Administration of the Civil Air Fleet under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The aircraft had accumulated a total flight time of 1,923 hours.

Crew

Two crews were on board for this flight:

• Deputy Squadron Commander for Flight Operations: Sevastyanov Nikolai Sergeevich
• Aircraft Commander:
  • Buzovir Grigory Petrovich
  • Baranov Pyotr Alexandrovich
• Co-pilots:
  • Ippolitov Ivan Emelyanovich
  • Mikhailovsky Viktor Stepanovich
  • Sharnin Ivan Timofeyevich
• Flight radio operators:
  • Lukyanov Konstantin Petrovich
  • Nosov Alexander Mikhailovich
• Flight engineer: Smirnov Nikolai Sergeevich

Accident

The Il-12 was conducting a training flight in the vicinity of Novosibirsk Airport, taking off at 14:22. Weather conditions over Novosibirsk were poor, with complete overcast at around 200 meters, icing reported within the clouds, visibility of approximately 2 kilometers, light southern winds, and falling wet snow. This was the fourth independent duty for the flight operations manager, and the command radio station was inoperative, leading to a lack of communication with aircraft L1312.

When the aircraft did not return after 2.5 to 3 hours, concern grew at the airport. A search of the aircraft parking area revealed the plane was missing. Eventually, a report came in about a plane crash near the hamlet of Karmanovo. At the crash site, a destroyed and partially burned airliner was found. Seven people died at the scene, while the aircraft commander, Baranov, and co-pilot, Mikhailovsky, survived initially. Mikhailovsky later succumbed to his injuries, bringing the death toll to eight.

According to Baranov's testimony, he was seated in the passenger cabin on the left in the second row during takeoff. The aircraft was piloted by Buzovir, who was seated in the left seat, and Sevastyanov, in the right seat. Sevastyanov attempted to simulate an engine failure during takeoff under cloudy conditions by feathering the left propeller. At an altitude of 200 meters, the Il-12 entered the clouds. Upon reaching 1,200–1,250 meters, Sevastyanov deployed the landing gear and flaps and reduced the power of the operating right engine. The goal was to demonstrate to the training crews how to recover from such a situation, although this maneuver was not part of the planned flight exercise.

However, the aircraft lost speed and entered a left turn. In the ensuing critical situation, both flight radio operators left the cockpit—one headed towards the toilet, and the other to the rear baggage compartment. The right engine was set to maximum power, while flight engineer Smirnov attempted to unfeather the left propeller. The aircraft then crashed tail-first into a field and was destroyed. Baranov lost consciousness upon impact.