What happened
On November 28, 1972, Japan Air Lines Flight 446 departed from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, en route to Tokyo. The aircraft involved was a Douglas DC-8-62 with the registration JA8040. Shortly after takeoff, while climbing through approximately 100 meters (330 feet), the plane stalled and crashed just beyond the runway end. The impact occurred roughly 30 seconds after liftoff.
Of the 75 individuals on board, including crew and passengers, 62 people died. Only 13 survivors were rescued, all of whom sustained severe injuries. The survivors were primarily located in the forward section of the fuselage near the first-class cabin. Among the survivors was one New Zealand national and eight Japanese citizens.
Investigation
The Soviet Accident Investigation Committee analyzed data from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR). The CVR transcript indicates that during the takeoff roll, the crew experienced mechanical issues and confusion regarding engine performance. At 55 seconds into the recording, a crew member shouted "Spoiler!" followed by expressions of confusion as the aircraft lost altitude rapidly.
Eyewitnesses on the ground reported abnormal vibrations and an engine bursting into flames shortly after departure. Survivors corroborated these accounts, describing a sudden loss of thrust and a feeling of falling immediately after leaving the ground. The investigation noted that despite winter conditions, the engine anti-ice systems were not activated, suggesting potential ice buildup in the air intakes as a contributing factor.
Findings
The direct cause of the accident was determined to be an excessive nose-up attitude leading to a stall. Investigators identified several possible contributing factors:
- Accidental deployment of the spoilers by the copilot during takeoff.
- Inappropriate pitch control in response to asymmetric thrust between engines 1 and 2.
- Reduced engine thrust due to ice accumulation in the air intakes because the anti-ice devices were not engaged.
The sequence of events suggests that the crew may have attempted to address an engine issue while simultaneously dealing with unintended spoiler deployment, leading to a loss of lift and subsequent crash. The aircraft JA8040 was written off shortly after the incident, marking it as one of the shortest-lived DC-8s in Japan Air Lines' fleet.