Cargo Flight Crash at Irkutsk-2 Airport (08 black)

Incident Overview and Flight Details A four-engine aircraft departed Irkutsk-2 Airport on a cargo flight to Cam Ranh Bay, with an intermediate stop in Vladivostok. The aircraft was carrying 15 passengers, eight crew members, and a load consisting of two Sukhoi SU-27UB fighters to be delivered to the Vietnam Air Force. The flight departed from runway 14 at Irkutsk-2 Airport. ## Sequence of Events Three seconds after takeoff, at a height of 5 meters, engine number 3 failed. Six seconds later, at a height of 22 meters, both left engines, numbers 1 and 2, also failed. The aircraft pitched up and entered a high angle of attack, climbing to a maximum height of about 66 meters before rolling to the left and crashing onto several buildings located 1,600 meters from the runway end. ## Casualties and Damage The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire, as were several buildings. All 23 occupants and 45 people on the ground were killed. One hundred other people on the ground were injured, some seriously. ## Probable Cause The exact cause of the engine failure could not be determined with certainty. It is known that engines of this series had problems with gas-dynamic stability, especially at high angle of attack.