Aeroflot Flight 593
Encyclopedia
Aeroflot
Flight 593 was an AeroflotRussian International Airlines Airbus A310-304 that crashed into a hillside of the Kuznetsk Alatau
mountain range
, Kemerovo Oblast
, on . The jet was en route from Sheremetyevo International Airport
to Hong Kong Kai Tak International Airport with 75 occupants aboard, of whom 63 were passengers. Most of the passengers were businessmen from Hong Kong and Taiwan
who were looking for economic opportunities in Russia. There were no survivors.
No evidence supporting that technical malfunctions led to the crash was found. Cockpit voice
and flight data recorder
s revealed the presence of unauthorised people in the flight deck at the time of the accident; in particular, the pilot's daughter and son were both there. The latter apparently had unknowingly disabled the A310 autopilot
's control of the aircraft's aileron
s while seated at the controls. The aircraft had then rolled into a steep bank and near-vertical dive from which the pilots were unable to regain control. Unlike Soviet planes with which the crew had been familiar, no audible alarm accompanied the autopilot's partial disconnection and because of this, they remained unaware of what was happening. As a result of the crash investigation, a number of design changes to the A310 autopilot system were recommended.
596, that was delivered new to Aeroflot on . Powered with two General Electric CF6-80C2A2 engines, the airframe had its maiden flight as on , and was one of five operating for Russian Airlines, an autonomous division of AeroflotRussian International Airlines that was set up for serving routes to the Russian Far East
and Southeast Asia
. On average, the crew
of three operating the aircraft had logged 900 hours on the type.
What nobody in the cockpit knew was that by doing this, he disconnected the aileron's autopilot: the flight computer switched the plane's aileron
s to manual control while maintaining control over the other flight systems. The plane did not audibly signal a warning that this had occurred, although an indicator light did come on. It apparently went unnoticed by the pilots, who had previously flown Russian-designed planes which had audible warning signals. The first to notice a problem was Eldar, who observed that the plane was banking right. Shortly after, the flight path indicator changed to show the new flight path of the aircraft as it turned. Since the turn was continuous, the resulting predicted flight path drawn on screen was a 180 degree turn. This indication is similar to the indications shown when in a holding pattern, where a 180 degree turn is intentional to remain in one place. This confused the pilots for nine seconds.
Soon the plane banked past a 45-degree angle (steeper than it was designed for). This increased the g-force
on the pilots and crew, making it impossible for them to regain control. After banking as much as 90 degrees, the remaining functions of the autopilot tried to correct the plane's altitude by putting the plane in an almost vertical ascent, nearly stalling
the plane. The co-pilot and Eldar managed to get the plane into a nosedive, which reduced the g-force on them and enabled the captain to take the controls. Though he and his co-pilot did regain control, their altitude by then was too low to recover, and the plane crashed at high vertical speed —estimated at 70 metre per second—, killing all aboard. The aircraft crashed gear-up, and all passengers were prepared for an emergency, as they were strapped into their seats. No distress calls were made prior to the crash. Despite the struggles of both pilots to save the aircraft, it was later concluded that if they had simply let go of the control column, the autopilot would have automatically taken action to prevent stalling, thus avoiding the accident.
The wreckage was located on a remote hillside approximately 20 km (12.4 mi) east of Mezhdurechensk, Kemerovo Oblast
, Russia
; the flight data recorders were found on the second day of searching. Families of western victims placed flowers on the crash site, while families of Chinese
victims scattered pieces of paper with messages written on them around the crash site.
(Air Emergency, Air Crash Investigation), "Kid in the Cockpit", featured this crash.
Aeroflot
OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...
Flight 593 was an AeroflotRussian International Airlines Airbus A310-304 that crashed into a hillside of the Kuznetsk Alatau
Kuznetsk Alatau
Kuznetsk Alatau is a mountain range, South Siberia, Russia between Kuznetsk Depression and Minusinsk Depression. Length: about 300 km., elevation: up to . It is part of the mountain system of Central Asia. See Geography of South-Central Siberia....
mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
, Kemerovo Oblast
Kemerovo Oblast
Kemerovo Oblast , also known as Kuzbass after the Kuznetsk Basin, is a federal subject of Russia , located in southwestern Siberia, where the West Siberian Plain meets the South Siberian mountains...
, on . The jet was en route from Sheremetyevo International Airport
Sheremetyevo International Airport
Sheremetyevo International Airport , is an international airport located in the Moscow Oblast, Russia, north-west of central Moscow. It is a hub for the passenger operations of the Russian international airline Aeroflot, and one of the three major airports serving Moscow along with Domodedovo...
to Hong Kong Kai Tak International Airport with 75 occupants aboard, of whom 63 were passengers. Most of the passengers were businessmen from Hong Kong and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
who were looking for economic opportunities in Russia. There were no survivors.
No evidence supporting that technical malfunctions led to the crash was found. Cockpit voice
Cockpit voice recorder
A cockpit voice recorder , often referred to as a "black box", is a flight recorder used to record the audio environment in the flight deck of an aircraft for the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents...
and flight data recorder
Flight data recorder
A flight data recorder is an electronic device employed to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters...
s revealed the presence of unauthorised people in the flight deck at the time of the accident; in particular, the pilot's daughter and son were both there. The latter apparently had unknowingly disabled the A310 autopilot
Autopilot
An autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. An autopilot can refer specifically to aircraft, self-steering gear for boats, or auto guidance of space craft and missiles...
's control of the aircraft's aileron
Aileron
Ailerons are hinged flight control surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. The ailerons are used to control the aircraft in roll, which results in a change in heading due to the tilting of the lift vector...
s while seated at the controls. The aircraft had then rolled into a steep bank and near-vertical dive from which the pilots were unable to regain control. Unlike Soviet planes with which the crew had been familiar, no audible alarm accompanied the autopilot's partial disconnection and because of this, they remained unaware of what was happening. As a result of the crash investigation, a number of design changes to the A310 autopilot system were recommended.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a leased Airbus A310-304, registration , msnSerial number
A serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value...
596, that was delivered new to Aeroflot on . Powered with two General Electric CF6-80C2A2 engines, the airframe had its maiden flight as on , and was one of five operating for Russian Airlines, an autonomous division of AeroflotRussian International Airlines that was set up for serving routes to the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. On average, the crew
Aircrew
Aircrew are the personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of the crew depends on the type of aircraft as well as the purpose of the flight.-Civilian:*Aviator** Pilot-in-command** First officer** Second officer** Third officer...
of three operating the aircraft had logged 900 hours on the type.
Description of the accident
The relief pilot, Yaroslav Kudrinsky , was taking his two children on their first international flight and they were brought to the cockpit while he was on duty. Aeroflot allowed families of pilots to travel at a discounted rate once per year. With the autopilot active, Kudrinsky, against regulations, offered to let them sit at the controls. First his daughter Yana took the pilot's left front seat. Kudrinsky adjusted the autopilot's heading to give her the impression that she was turning the plane, though she actually had no control of the aircraft. Next, his son Eldar Kudrinsky , took the pilot's seat. Unlike his sister, Eldar applied enough force to the control column to contradict the autopilot for 30 seconds.What nobody in the cockpit knew was that by doing this, he disconnected the aileron's autopilot: the flight computer switched the plane's aileron
Aileron
Ailerons are hinged flight control surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. The ailerons are used to control the aircraft in roll, which results in a change in heading due to the tilting of the lift vector...
s to manual control while maintaining control over the other flight systems. The plane did not audibly signal a warning that this had occurred, although an indicator light did come on. It apparently went unnoticed by the pilots, who had previously flown Russian-designed planes which had audible warning signals. The first to notice a problem was Eldar, who observed that the plane was banking right. Shortly after, the flight path indicator changed to show the new flight path of the aircraft as it turned. Since the turn was continuous, the resulting predicted flight path drawn on screen was a 180 degree turn. This indication is similar to the indications shown when in a holding pattern, where a 180 degree turn is intentional to remain in one place. This confused the pilots for nine seconds.
Soon the plane banked past a 45-degree angle (steeper than it was designed for). This increased the g-force
G-force
The g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...
on the pilots and crew, making it impossible for them to regain control. After banking as much as 90 degrees, the remaining functions of the autopilot tried to correct the plane's altitude by putting the plane in an almost vertical ascent, nearly stalling
Stall (flight)
In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases. This occurs when the critical angle of attack of the foil is exceeded...
the plane. The co-pilot and Eldar managed to get the plane into a nosedive, which reduced the g-force on them and enabled the captain to take the controls. Though he and his co-pilot did regain control, their altitude by then was too low to recover, and the plane crashed at high vertical speed —estimated at 70 metre per second—, killing all aboard. The aircraft crashed gear-up, and all passengers were prepared for an emergency, as they were strapped into their seats. No distress calls were made prior to the crash. Despite the struggles of both pilots to save the aircraft, it was later concluded that if they had simply let go of the control column, the autopilot would have automatically taken action to prevent stalling, thus avoiding the accident.
The wreckage was located on a remote hillside approximately 20 km (12.4 mi) east of Mezhdurechensk, Kemerovo Oblast
Mezhdurechensk, Kemerovo Oblast
Mezhdurechensk is a city in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. Population: -Administrative and municipal status:Administratively, it is incorporated as the city of oblast significance of Mezhdurechensk—an administrative unit with a status equal to that of the districts.Municipally, the territories of the...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
; the flight data recorders were found on the second day of searching. Families of western victims placed flowers on the crash site, while families of Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
victims scattered pieces of paper with messages written on them around the crash site.
Dramatisation
A season three episode of the Canadian-produced TV series MaydayMayday (TV series)
Mayday, also known as Air Crash Investigation in the United Kingdom, Australia and Asia and Air Emergency and Air Disasters in the United States, is a Canadian documentary television programme produced by Cineflix investigating air crashes, near-crashes and other disasters...
(Air Emergency, Air Crash Investigation), "Kid in the Cockpit", featured this crash.
Flight number
Although it is common practice for airlines to retire the flight numbers of flights involved in fatal accidents, Nevertheless, the airline has modified its schedules so flight 595 is the only one servicing Hong Kong; , the route is operated on a daily basis using Airbus A330-200 equipment.External links
- Airdisaster.com account of the crash, with wreckage photo.
- Russian Air Roulette, TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, April 18, 1994 - A Crash in Siberia; Crew Let Children Fly Aeroflot Jet, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, April 10, 1994