Second Il-76 crash may be indicative of aging Russia cargo fleet.
An Il-76 similar to the accident aircraft (although the one in the picture is a tanker and not a cargo variant). Photo by www.kremlin.ru.
To us westerners, any mention of Russian airlines often leads to images in our heads of uncomfortable, classless cabins and thought of reckless safety violations (although now that I think about it, these are the images that come to my head when I think of our own airlines as of late. While the world has known some unfortunate Russian aviation accidents for what are considered flagrant safety violations, the reality is that the aviation industry in Russia has come a long way and it is comparable to that of many other places in the world. Russian military aviation may be an exception, as a recent string of accidents may be showing the condition of its aging fleet. For the workhorse of the Russian Air Force, the four engine, high-wing Ilyushin Il-76 Candid, a couple of recent accidents seem to be a warning that the overall age of the fleet may be getting too old. The latest of these occurred Sunday, November 1st in Mirny (Sakha Republic), Russia when a departing Il-76 crashed soon after takeoff killing all 11 crewmen on board at around 2:00 AM Moscow time. This was the second accident in less than a month, after one of another Il-76’s engines fell off a wing on October 7th.
Sunday’s Il-76 was being operated by the Russian Ministry of the Interior and had arrived from Yermolino Airport (UUWE), reportedly delivering diesel to Mirny Airport (UERR). After unloading, the aircraft then departed on a positioning flight to Irkutsk Airport (UIII) with no cargo being carried (so overweight issues don’t appear to be a probable cause). Conditions on takeoff were good, with no winds. As the plane approached 100 feet, it banked right and crashed 2 miles from the runway in an open field (no victims on the ground). Investigators quickly recovered the flight recorder after the crash. Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office Investigation Committee has opened a criminal investigation on the accident (which may be how accident investigations are generally handled over there as I am not familiar with the process in Russia).
The crash raises concerns about the current state of Russian military aviation. News reports have pointed out that while the country has increased its wealth a bit with the recent oil market boom and military spending has been upped a bit, orders for newer aircraft have been slow to come. The overall fleet age has increased and some of the aircraft have begun to show their ages. Of course, an engine falling off a plane (as in the October incident) is probably more indicative of faulty continuing airworthiness certification and maintenance issues than an aging fleet. A well maintained and inspected older plane will fly just as good as a new one.
The factors involved in this accident are unknown for now. This could be some form of dual engine failure on the right wing that may have caught the pilots by surprise, but two engines failing in tandem is a rare thing unless the fuel supply was affected somehow. The temperature was low (-11°F), so some form of icing could be involved, but I’m not sure if there was a moisture source in the area for the ice to form. Right now, anything could have caused this plane to crash and the accident may have to do with something completely unrelated to the age or maintenance of the aircraft.
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