1972 Lviv mid-air collision: Antonov AN-26 and Tupolev TU-134 (101 red)

Incident Overview On 1202 local time, an Antonov AN-26 departed Lviv-Sknyliv Airport and climbed to 3,900 meters while en route to Moscow. The aircraft carried 15 people, most of whom were officers from the Carpathian Military contingent. ## Collision and Crash While cruising in clouds at 3,900 meters, the AN-26 collided with an Aeroflot Tupolev TU-134 registered CCCP-65856. The TU-134 was descending to Lviv Airport on a flight from Tallinn and had 79 people on board. After the collision, both aircraft entered a dive and crashed in an open field near the city of Zolochiv, about 60 km east of Lviv. Both aircraft were totally destroyed, and all 94 occupants were killed. ## Official Findings The investigation determined that the accident resulted from poor radar coverage by air traffic control (ATC), which failed to properly coordinate control and assistance to both aircraft. The ATC officer in charge of the sector cleared the TU-134 crew to continue descending without knowing the exact position of either aircraft. This caused the Tupolev to descend too low and intersect the Antonov’s trajectory. The sector supervisor was also found to have failed to pay sufficient attention to operations, did not identify the possible conflict in time, and was unable to initiate corrective action or assist the colleague.