Accident Overview
A single-engine An-2 aircraft, registration RA-40851, was conducting an aerial spraying mission near the village of Kistenovo, approximately six kilometers north of Bol'shoe Boldino Airfield. While flying at a low altitude, the aircraft collided with a reinforced concrete support and power transmission lines before crashing into a cornfield and bursting into flames. The copilot was killed on impact, and the captain sustained serious injuries, succumbing to them two days later. The aircraft was destroyed by the post-crash fire.
Flight and Impact
The crew was operating in the early morning hours, with the sun low on the horizon. Flying at an extremely low height against the sunrise, the pilots failed to see and avoid the power cables that spanned their flight path. The aircraft struck both the cables and a concrete support, resulting in a loss of control and subsequent crash.
Probable Cause
According to the official investigation, the cause of the accident was the collision of the aircraft with a reinforced concrete support and power transmission lines during controlled flight while performing aerial application at an extremely low altitude. Contributing factors identified included: field processing when the sun is less than 15° above the horizon and the sun's heading angle is less than 30°; insufficient prudence of the pilot-in-command when conducting a VFR flight for aerial application; failure of the pilot to take into account the presence of artificial obstacles in the flight area; and lack of marking of the power lines.