Ilyushin II-12 accident at Moscow-Vnukovo, Russia, 23 Dec 1948 (CCCP-L1731)
On December 23, 1948, an Ilyushin II-12 (registration CCCP-L1731) operated by Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines was involved in an aviation accident near Moscow-Vnukovo, Russia in flight. 4 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: Wrong decision on part of the Ilyushin II-12' crew who decided to modify his route without prior permission from ATC. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
Probable cause
Wrong decision on part of the Ilyushin II-12' crew who decided to modify his route without prior permission from ATC.
— NTSB Determination
Accident narrative
The aircraft was parked at Khodynka and has to be transferred to Tbilisi by an Aeroflot crew from Georgia. Unfortunately, this crew arrived too late and another crew from the Uzbekistan Aeroflot Division took over the airplane for a transfer to Tashkent. After takeoff, the crew failed to announce the modification to ATC, cut the route and continued at an insufficient altitude when the aircraft collided with an Aeroflot Douglas TS-62 registered CCCP-L861. Carrying four passengers and four crew members, the TS-62 just took off from Moscow-Vnukovo Airport and was climbing out bound for Moscow-Bykovo Airport. Both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a wooded area located 6 km southeast of the airport, in Valuevo. Both aircraft were destroyed and all 12 occupants were killed.
Probable cause (official findings): Wrong decision on part of the Ilyushin II-12' crew who decided to modify his route without prior permission from ATC.