Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3) accident at Tynda, Russia, 21 Apr 1948 (CCCP-L1215)

Accident narrative

An Aeroflot LI-2 registered CCCP-L4279 made an emergency landing near Tynda on April 20. A day later, a Deputy from the Amur Region decided to conduct a mission to help and forced the crew to takeoff despite the fact that weather conditions were below minima. The aircraft left Takhtamygda Airport at 1550LT. About twenty minutes later, the right engine failed. The crew was forced to feather the propeller and the captain decided to return to his departure point. Shortly later, while losing altitude, the aircraft hit tree tops with its propeller while the left elevator hit a telephone pole. The aircraft stalled and crashed. Three crew members, among them the captain, were killed while three other occupants were injured.

Probable cause (official findings): Failure of the right engine in flight. The crew was forced to conduct the mission by a local Deputy despite the fact that weather conditions were below minima at the time of the accident.