Accident Details
On 8 July 1980, Aeroflot Flight 4225, a Tupolev Tu-154B-2, was operating a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Alma-Ata Airport to Simferopol Airport. Shortly after departure, the aircraft reached an altitude of no more than 500 feet when its airspeed suddenly dropped due to thermal currents encountered during the climb out. This caused the airplane to stall less than 5 kilometres from the airport. The aircraft subsequently crashed and caught fire.
Casualties
All 156 passengers and 10 crew members on board were killed in the accident.
Significance
To date, the crash remains the deadliest aviation accident in Kazakhstan. At the time, it was also the deadliest accident involving a Tupolev Tu-154 until Aeroflot Flight 3352 crashed in 1984, killing 178 people.