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An Ilyushin Il-14 similar to the one involved in the crash
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Accident | |
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Date | 23 April 1966 (1966-04-23) |
Summary | Double engine failure for reasons unknown, ditching at sea |
Site | Caspian Sea, south of the Absheron Peninsula |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Ilyushin Il-14P |
Operator | Aeroflot |
Registration | CCCP-61772 |
Flight origin | Bina International Airport |
Stopover | Makhachkala Airport |
Destination | Saratov Airport |
Passengers | 28 |
Crew | 5 |
Fatalities | 33 |
Survivors | 0 |
Aeroflot Flight 2723 was a Soviet domestic passenger flight from Bina International AirporttoMakhachkala Airport. On 23 April 1966 the Ilyushin Il-14 operating the route ditched in the Caspian Sea following engine problems.
The Ilyushin Il-14P involved was built in 1956 and flew until 1959 registered as CCCP-Л1772 for Aeroflot, before the registration was changed to СССР-61772. By the time of the accident, the aircraft had completed 16,257 flying hours.[1]
The Il-14P departed at 07:42 local time from Baku for Saratov with a stopover in Makhachkala. The weather at the time of departure was heavy rain and thick clouds with a ceiling of 140–200 m (460–660 ft). About 12 minutes after takeoff, at an altitude of 1,500 m (4,900 ft), the pilots reported problems with the engines and assumed that the cause was wet spark plugs. The flight made a 180° turn to return to Baku. Shortly thereafter, the crew reported strong vibrations and low revs from the left engine.
At 07:59, the crew reported that the temperature had dropped sharply in both engines. Three minutes later, the pilots reported reaching an altitude of 200 m (660 ft). However, due to the bad weather, the aircraft had already flown past the airport and was located over the Caspian Sea south of the Absheron Peninsula. Five seconds later, the crew radioed an SOS call and reported that they would ditch the aircraft in the sea. That was the last radio contact with Flight 2723.
No trace of the aircraft was found until a few months later when the wreckage was found by accident on the seabed in 23 m (75 ft) of water some 18–20 km (11–12 mi) south of Nargin Island by Navy divers searching for another sunken object. The aircraft and most of the bodies of those on board were removed from the water by a floating crane. The fuselage had little significant damage, indicating that the aircraft hit the water at a shallow angle and remained relatively intact. The investigation was unable to find the cause of the engine failures.[2]
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1966 (1966)
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Jan 14 Jan 17 Jan 24 Jan 28 Feb 2 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 17 Feb 4 Feb 17 Feb 28 Mar 4 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402 Mar 5 Mar 18 United Arab Airlines Flight 749 Apr 22 American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D Apr 23 Apr 27 Jun 3 Jun 29 Philippine Air Lines Flight 785 Jul 4 1966 Air New Zealand DC-8 crash Jul 22 Aug 6 Sep 1 Sep 22 Sep 28 Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648 hijacking Oct 1 West Coast Airlines Flight 956 Nov 13 Nov 15 Nov 24 Dec 24 Flying Tiger Line Canadair CL-44 crash | |
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