What happened
While navigating through cloud cover, an aircraft on approach to Leningrad-Shosseynaya Airport was cleared by air traffic control to descend to 1,200 meters using corridor number two. Simultaneously, an Aeroflot Douglas TS-62, registered CCCP-L1055, had recently departed from the same airport for a flight to Minsk. The crew of the Douglas TS-62 had been authorized to climb to 2,700 meters via the same corridor.
At an altitude of 1,200 meters, the two aircraft collided. Following the impact, both planes descended into a field situated approximately 23 km southwest of Leningrad-Shosseynaya Airport, near the village of Skvoritsy. The wreckage of the two planes was discovered roughly 1,200 meters apart. There were 31 fatalities in total, as all occupants on both aircraft perished in the accident.
Findings
An investigation into the disaster identified air traffic control errors as the primary factor behind the collision. Although radar systems were tracking both aircraft, controllers at Leningrad-Shosseynaya Airport did not implement necessary measures to maintain safe separation. The investigation concluded that the controllers failed to recognize that the two planes were traveling in opposite directions within the same corridor at a shared altitude. Furthermore, the staff provided improper instructions to both flight crews, which placed both aircraft on a direct collision course.