What happened
On the day of the accident, a TS-62 departed from Leningrad-Shosseynaya Airport. After takeoff, the flight crew was granted clearance to ascend to 2,700 meters using corridor number two. Simultaneously, an Aeroflot Ilyushin II-12, registered CCCP-L1328, was arriving from Minsk and had been cleared by air traffic control to descend to 1,200 meters via the same flight corridor.
As the TS-62 entered a cloud layer during its climb, it struck the incoming Ilyushin II-12. The impact caused both aircraft to plummet into a field situated approximately 23 km southwest of Leningrad-Shosseynaya Airport, near the village of Skvoritsy. Debris from the two planes was located roughly 1,200 meters apart. There were 31 fatalities in total, accounting for all passengers and crew members on both flights, including the 19 passengers and five crew members aboard the Aeroflot aircraft.
Findings
Official investigations concluded that the primary reason for the accident was air traffic control errors. Although radar systems were tracking both aircraft, controllers at Leningrad-Shosseynaya Airport did not implement necessary measures to maintain safe separation. The investigation highlighted a failure in effective radar surveillance and noted that the controllers issued improper instructions to both flight crews, which placed them on intersecting paths within the same corridor.