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|
 RA-93913, sister ship to the aircraft involved | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 29 July 2007 |
| Summary | Loss of control due to bird strike |
| Site |
|
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Antonov An-12WR |
| Operator | ATRAN |
| IATA flight No. | V89655 |
| ICAO flight No. | VAS9655 |
| Call sign | ATRAN 9655 |
| Registration | RA-93912 |
| Flight origin | Moscow Domodedovo Airport, Russia |
| 1st stopover | Omsk Central Airport, Russia |
| 2nd stopover | Bratsk Airport, Russia |
| Destination | Komsomolsk-on-Amur Airport, Russia |
| Occupants | 7 |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 7 |
| Fatalities | 7 |
| Survivors | 0 |
ATRAN Flight 9655 was a scheduled cargo flight from Moscow, Russia to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia with stopovers in Omsk, Russia and Bratsk, Russia.[1] On July 29, 2007, the aircraft operating the flight struck birds shortly after takeoff,[2] damaging 2 of the four engines.[1] The aircraft then banked to the right and entered an irrecoverable dive, crashing 4 kilometers from the end of the runway.[1][3] All 7 crew members onboard were killed.[1][3]
Aircraft
editAccident
editThe flight was a cargo flight, delivering various aircraft components for assembly at the Gagarin Aircraft Manufacturing Plant in Komsomolsk.[5] The aircraft took off from runway 32C at approximately 04:17 AM local time.[5] Shortly after takeoff, at a height of 164 feet above the ground, the plane experienced an engine surge in the number 4 engine, followed by a surge in the number 3 engine.[5] Both engines on the right side of the aircraft then shut down and entered the feathered position.[5][3] Witnesses on the ground near the end of runway 32C observed yellow flames shooting from the back of engine 3.[5] A minute after the number 3 engine failed, the aircraft entered a bank angle of nearly 100 degrees.[5] The right wing clipped trees, causing the aircraft to flip over, and impact the ground at an approximately 45 degree nose-down attitude, exploding on impact.[5] All 7 occupants aboard were killed.[1][3]
Investigation
editThe Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) of Russia took over the investigation into the crash.[5] It was found that the aircraft had struck a flock of birds shortly after takeoff from runway 32C, which caused the engines on the right side of the aircraft to surge and eventually fail.[5] Additionally, runway 32C (which was not the main runway at the airport, only a temporary one used only for takeoffs) at Moscow Domodedovo Airport did not have any bird-scaring equipment to deter birds.[5] Only runway 32R had bird-deterring equipment.[5] The crew had received ATIS information twice prior to takeoff regarding the possibility of birds at takeoff but information was only provided for runway 32R, with no information being provided for runway 32C.[5] The information given was not clarified with ornithologists or the airport staff.[5] Due to the nighttime departure, it would have been impossible for ATC to monitor or scan the airfield for birds flying by, so the crew accepted this information as correct.[5] The crew would also have not seen any birds due to the pitch black darkness.[5] As well, the information given was only based on the general bird activity at the airport and did not reflect the current conditions at the time.[5] It was found that Domodedovo Airport lacked a communication system between ornithologists and air traffic control regarding bird activity close to the airport, which explained the controller's error in providing only generalized bird activity at the airport and not the current conditions.[5] The simulator used to train crews in Moscow was outdated and did not meet current standards, with the lack of simulated dual engine failure on takeoff scenarios.[5] As a result, the crew of flight 9655 were inexperienced in dealing with this type of scenario.[5] As well, a lack of crew training and informing was also found with the training not being thorough enough.[5] In the years prior to the accident, there had been a noted increase in the amount of birds due to construction of runway 1, which could allow water from rainstorms to settle in excavations made by machinery, attracting local bird species.[5] In addition, the AN-12 flight manual had no emergency procedures for a dual engine failure at takeoff or steps on how to rectify the problem.[5] It only had steps for a single engine failure at takeoff, as well as landing with two engines on the same side inoperative, with the crew of flight 9655 using the former procedure.[5] Furthermore, the existing procedures in the manual provided no information on the maximum bank angle achievable or the airspeed to fly at to level the plane.[5] As well, the procedures assumed that the engine failures occurred at or close to cruising speed, and not takeoff speed, and also not occurring at an altitude lower than the altitude at which the flaps are extended and the landing gear is deployed for landing.[5] The correct procedure to level the wings caused by same-side engine failure would be to apply rudder input to the left.[5] The crew did however manage to temporarily bring the aircraft under control, levelling the wings slightly, (how they did this is not known, probably through the rudder), but the plane was banking in a right hand turn and descending minimally and was still not fully controllable.[5] The failure of the engines on the right side of the plane caused additional drag on the right side, resulting in the plane entering a sideslip condition from which the pilots could not counteract and entered a nose-down attitude.[5] Analysis of the manual regarding sideslip conditions concluded that control of the aircraft was virtually impossible and no flight crew member could have taken any action to correct it.[5] It was also found that at the speed the aircraft was flying in during the last moments of the flight until impact, any corrective action to level the plane using rudder and aileron input would prove ineffective and the aircraft ended up entering a nosedive.[5]
The final report released concluded that the accident was caused by the aircraft entering an uncontrolled right bank and a sideslip condition caused by drag created by 2 inoperative engines on the right side and the left engines at takeoff power, exacerbating the bank, which made any input with the ailerons or rudder ineffective at correcting the bank, leading to impact with the ground.[5] As well, the lack of emergency procedures in the flight manual regarding the specific scenario also contributed to the crew not effectively dealing with the situation, causing the aircraft to crash.[5]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 Ranter, Harro. "Accident Antonov An-12BP RA-93912, Sunday 29 July 2007". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- 1 2 Kaminski-Morrow, David (2007-12-20). "Bird strike on two engines brought down An-12 at Moscow - FlightGlobal". FlightGlobal - Pioneering aviation news and insight. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "ATRAN - Aviatrans Cargo Airlines | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives". www.baaa-acro.com. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- 1 2 "An-12 c/n 4341709". Scramble Soviet Database. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 https://mak-iac.org/upload/iblock/866/ra-93912_ofinf.pdf