1946 Kolpny Li-2 crash

The 1946 Kolpny Li-2 crash was a passenger aircraft accident involving a Li-2 operated by Aeroflot that occurred on Monday, January 14, 1946, in the Kolpnyansky District of Oryol Oblast, resulting in the deaths of all 22 people on board.

1946 Kolpny Li-2 crash

Li-2 of Aeroflot
Accident
Date	14 January 1946 (1946-01-14)
Summary	Tail icing, in-flight breakup
Site	Near Netrubezh, Kolpnyansky District, Oryol Oblast
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Lisunov Li-2
Operator	Aeroflot (Ukrainian Territorial Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet, 23rd Transport Aviation Detachment)
Registration	СССР-Л4150
Flight origin	Kharkiv Airport, Kharkiv
Destination	Vnukovo Airport, Moscow
Occupants	22
Passengers	17
Crew	5
Fatalities	22
Survivors	0

Crew

• Captain — Ivan Danilovich Onishchenko
• First Officer — Nikita Afanasyevich Makarevich
• Flight engineer — Leonid Pavlovich Yumashev
• Trainee Flight Engineer — Vasily Alexandrovich Kopeikin
• Radio operator — Lidia Fyodorovna Safonova

Accident

The Li-2, tail number СССР-Л4150, from the 23rd Aviation Transport Detachment of the Ukrainian Territorial Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet (Aeroflot), was performing a passenger flight from Kharkiv to Moscow, with 17 passengers and 5 crew members on board.

During the flight, the aircraft, while flying at an altitude of 400—600 meters, entered clouds, where severe icing began. However, this phenomenon was not indicated in the weather forecast provided to the crew before the flight. The appearance of ice on the tail surfaces caused buffeting, which soon led to the detachment of the left part of the elevator. Losing control, the airliner entered a spin. The crew attempted to recover from the spin, but during the recovery, they inadvertently subjected the aircraft to loads that exceeded the structural strength limits.

Due to these excessive loads, the Li-2 broke up in mid-air at an altitude of 150—200 meters. The wreckage fell near the village of Netrubezh in the Kolpnyansky District (center — Kolpny) of Oryol Oblast. The entire flight from takeoff to breakup lasted 1 hour and 17 minutes. All 22 people on board perished.

Memorial

A memorial sign to the crew was installed in the Youth Park of Kharkiv.

Causes

According to the conclusion of the investigative commission, the crash occurred due to the combination of the following factors:

1. The weather forecast provided to the crew was incorrect, and did not indicate the possibility of icing.
2. Poor performance of the meteorological service at Kharkiv Airport.
3. After entering the icing zone, Captain Onishchenko did not attempt to exit the area.