Mid-Air Collision Between AN-24 and Tupolev TU-16K Near Zavitinsk (CCCP-46653)

Flight Details and Collision Circumstances The aircraft was operating flight SU811 from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Blagoveshchensk, with an intermediate stop at Komsomolsk-on-Amur. It carried 27 passengers and five crew members. The aircraft departed Komsomolsk-on-Amur Airport at 1456 local time for the second leg of the journey and was cleared to climb to 5,200 meters. At the same time, two Tupolev TU-16K aircraft of the Soviet Air Force departed Zavitinsk Air Base on a weather reconnaissance mission. The military aircraft, registered CCCP-07034 and CCCP-07514, each carried a crew of six. While cruising at 5,220 meters in good weather conditions, the AN-24 and the TU-16 registered CCCP-07514 collided. Both aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in an uninhabited area approximately 70 kilometers east of Zavitinsk. Both aircraft were totally destroyed. ## Casualties and Aftermath All six crew members of the TU-16 were killed, as were 31 occupants on board the AN-24. Three days after the accident, a 20-year-old man who had been seated in the AN-24 was found slightly injured in the taiga. ## Official Findings The official investigation determined that the collision resulted from poor organization and management of flights in the Zavitinsk area and non-compliance with published procedures. The accident was made possible by a lack of interaction, coordination, and communication between civilian and military air controllers.