Narrative:The Li-2 operated on a flight from Kuybyshev (now Samara) to Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) when the oil pressure of the left engine dropped. The engine was shut down 1 hour and 35 minutes into the flight. The pilot decided to make an emergency landing at Ufa, but veered off course while descending through the clouds. When the aircraft broke through the cloud cover it was straight over the city of Ufa instead of the airport. The pilot set the right engine to takeoff power but it failed as well because of overheating. As the aircraft was to come down in the city the pilot turned into the direction of the Byelaya River. After hitting trees on the embankment of the river, the aircraft crashed into a forest and burnt out.
Sources:
» airdisaster.ru
»
Soviet Transports
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Kuybyshev Airport to Sverdlovsk-Koltsovo Airport as the crow flies is 759 km (475 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.