Tupolev ANT-9 (PS-9) accident at Kulob, Tajikistan, 27 May 1941 (CCCP-L112)

Accident narrative

The airplane departed Kulob Airport at 1100LT on a schedule service to Stalinabad, carrying 11 passengers (nine adults and two children), two pilots and a total of 265 kg of luggage. Ten minutes after takeoff, while cruising at an altitude of 940 metres above a mountainous area, one of the engine failed. The crew attempted to make an emergency landing but there were no suitable terrain. The airplane lost height and impacted the slope of a rocky mountain (slope of 60°) located 18 km northwest of Kulob. The wreckage was found less than an hour later some 15 metres below the summit. The airplane disintegrated on impact and all 13 occupants were killed.

Probable cause (official findings): Due to the degree of destruction of the airplane and the lack of witnesses, the exact circumstances of the accident could not be determined. Nevertheless, one of the engine failed in flight, most probably due to the failure of a fuel supply and/or the carburetor where irregular and abnormal wears were found, because of a poor polish during the last repair session.