Fatal Charter Flight Crash Near Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport (CCCP-86671)

Flight Details and Accident Sequence The aircraft was completing a charter flight from Paris to Moscow, with an intermediate stop in Leningrad. It departed Leningrad-Pulkovo Airport at 2059 local time bound for Moscow. While descending from the north in marginal weather conditions at an altitude of 600 meters, the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent, nosed down, struck trees, and crashed in flames in a wooded area near Krasnaya Polyana, about 5 km north of Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport. ## Impact and Casualties The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces, with debris scattered over an area 550 meters long and 80 meters wide. None of the 174 people on board survived. The passengers included 128 Russians, 38 Chileans, six Algerians, one East German, and one Australian. At the time, the source described it as the worst plane crash in history. ## Probable Cause The official investigation stated that the exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. However, the possibility that the loss of control resulted from a technical problem with the elevator control system or the longitudinal control system was not ruled out.