ASN Aircraft accident Ilyushin Il-14M TZ-ABH Esteng
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Saturday 5 November 1966
Time:18:02 UTC
Type:Silhouette image of generic IL14 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Ilyushin Il-14M
Operator:Air Mali
Registration: TZ-ABH
MSN: 7342501
First flight: 1957
Total airframe hrs:3920
Engines: 2 Shvetsov ASh-82T
Crew:Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Passengers:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Total:Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:1,5 km (0.9 mls) W of Esteng (   France)
Crash site elevation: 2440 m (8005 feet) amsl
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature:Ferry/positioning
Departure airport:Zagreb-Pleso Airport (ZAG/LDZA), Croatia
Destination airport:Marseille-Marignane Airport (MRS/LFML), France
Narrative:
An Ilyushin Il-14M operated by Air Mali crashed in the French Alps, killing all seven on board.
The aircraft had departed Minsk, with destination Bamako, Mali. The first intermediate stops were planned at Zagreb and Marseille. On the legt to Marseille, the aircraft impacted the mountainside of Montagne de l'Avalanche in poor weather conditions.

Probable Cause:

The commission of inquiry considers that:
The TZ-ABH accident was caused by the accumulation of two main errors acting in the same direction.
1. A navigation error due to the force of an unknown or underestimated South wind which caused an important uncorrected drift and carried the plane towards the terrain.
2. An error of interpretation of a controller order, due to a complexity of conversation exchanges. This error determined the pilot to take, starting from a position already very North of the Airway, the course 360°, which carried the plane even more towards the terrain.
This misinterpretation can itself be attributed to the fact that there is no international phraseology for the orders given by the control to the en route aircraft.
These errors were compounded:
1. By very bad meteorological conditions.
These meteorological circumstances: thunderstorms and very strong turbulence, could have constituted aggravating causes by making difficult the work of the crew and in particular the navigation with the help of the medium' frequency radiocompasses, only instruments of radio navigation _ of which it had on board this plane.
2. By the fact that the plane followed an East-West route contrary to the forecasts of the flight plan.
3. By an altitude much too low, taking into account the followed route

Accident investigation:
cover
Investigating agency: BEA
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 3 years and 6 months
Accident number: Report tz-h661105
Download report: Final report

Classification:
Aircraft strayed off planned course
Language/communication problems
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain

Sources:
» Soviet Transports


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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 Zagreb-Pleso Airport to Marseille-Marignane Airport as the crow flies is 890 km (556 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.

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.
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