Tupolev Tu-154
Encyclopedia
The Tupolev Tu-154 ' onMouseout='HidePop("47007")' href="/topics/NATO_reporting_name">NATO reporting name
: Careless) is a three-engine
medium-range
narrow-body
airliner
designed in the mid 1960s and manufactured by Tupolev
. As the mainstay 'workhorse' of Soviet
and (subsequently) Russia
n airlines for several decades, it serviced over a sixth of the world's landmass and carried half of all passengers flown by Aeroflot
and its subsidiaries (137.5 million/year or 243.8 billion passenger kilometers in 1990). Having been exported and operated by 17 non-Russian airlines and a number of air force
s, it remained the standard domestic route airliner of Russia and former Soviet states until the mid 2000s.
With a cruising speed of 975 kilometres per hour (605.8 mph), the Tu-154 is one of the fastest civilian aircraft in operation and has a range of 5280 kilometres (3,280.8 mi). Capable of operating from unpaved and gravel airfields, it was widely used in extreme Arctic
conditions of Russia's northern and eastern regions where other airliners were unable to operate and where service facilities were very basic. With a service life of 45,000 hours (18,000 cycles) but capable of 80,000 hours with upgrades, it is expected to continue operations until 2016, although noise regulation
s have seen services to western Europe
and other areas restricted. In January 2010, Russian flag carrier
Aeroflot announced the retirement of its Tu-154 fleet after 40 years service with the last scheduled flight being Aeroflot Flight 736 from Ekaterinburg
to Moscow
on 31 December 2009.
Since 1968 there have been 39 fatal incidents involving the Tu-154, most of which were caused either by factors unrelated to the aircraft or by its extensive use in demanding conditions.
, the Antonov An-10 'Ukraine'
and the Ilyushin Il-18
turboprop
s. The requirements called for either a payload capacity of 16–18 t (35,274–39,683.2 lb) with a range
of 2850 – while cruising at a speed of 900 km/h (559.2 mph), or a payload of 5.8 tonnes (12,786.8 lb) with a range of 5800–7000 km (3,604–4,349.6 mi) while cruising at 850 km/h (528.2 mph). A take-off distance of 2600 metres (8,530.2 ft) at maximum take-off weight
was also stipulated as a requirement. Conceptually similar to the British Hawker Siddeley Trident
, which first flew in 1962, and the Boeing 727
, which first flew in 1963, the medium-range Tu-154 would be marketed by Tupolev at the same time as Ilyushin was marketing the long-range Ilyushin Il-62
. The Soviet Ministry of Aircraft Industry chose the Tu-154 as it incorporated the latest in Soviet aircraft design and best met Aeroflot's anticipated requirements for the 1970s and 1980s.
The first project chief was Sergey Yeger but in 1964, Dimitriy S. Markov assumed that position. In 1975 he turned it over to Aleksandr S. Shengardt.
The Tu-154 first flew
on 4 October 1968. The first deliveries to Aeroflot were in 1970 with freight (mail) services beginning in May 1971 and passenger services in February 1972. There was still limited production of the 154M model as of January 2009, despite previous announcements of the end of production in 2006. 1025 Tu-154s have been built, 214 of which are still in service as of 14 December 2009.
, but it is slightly larger than its American counterpart. Both the 727 and the Tu-154 use an S-duct
for the middle (number 2) engine. The original model had Kuznetsov NK-8-2
, while the Tu-154M has Soloviev
D-30KU-154
engines. All Tu-154 aircraft models have a higher thrust-to-weight ratio
than that of the 727 – this gives them superior performance, although at the expense of poorer fuel efficiency
, which became an important factor in later decades as fuel costs grew.
The cabin of the Tu-154, although of the same six-abreast seating layout, gives the impression of an oval interior, with a lower ceiling than is common on Boeing
and Airbus
airliners. The passenger cabin accommodates 128 passengers in two-class layout and 164 passengers in single-class layout, and up to 180 passengers in high-density layout. The layout can be modified to what is called a winter version where some seats are taken out and a wardrobe is installed for passenger coats. The passenger doors are also smaller than on its Boeing and Airbus counterparts. Furthermore, luggage space in the overhead compartments is very limited.
Like the Tupolev Tu-134
, the Tu-154 has a wing swept back
at 35° at the quarter-chord
line. The British Hawker Siddeley Trident
has the same sweepback angle, while the Boeing 727 has a slightly smaller sweepback angle of 32°. The wing also has anhedral
(downward sweep) which is distinguishing feature of Russian low-wing airliners designed during this era. Most Western low-wing airliners such as the contemporary Boeing 727 have Dihedral (upward sweep). The anhedral means that Russian airliners have poor lateral stability compared to Western ones, but also have weaker dutch roll
tendencies, eliminating the need for a yaw damper
.
Like many other Soviet-built airliners, the Tu-154 has an oversized landing gear
enabling it to land on unpaved runways, once common in rural areas of the Soviet Union. The aircraft has two six-wheel main bogies fitted with large low-pressure tires that retract into pods extending from the trailing edge
s of the wings (a common Tupolev feature), plus a two-wheel nose gear unit. Soft oleo struts (shock absorbers) provide a much smoother ride on bumpy airfields than most airliners, which only very rarely operate on such poor surfaces.
The original requirement was to have a three-person flight crew
– captain, first officer and flight engineer
– as opposed to 4/5-person crew on other Soviet airliners. A fourth crew member, a navigator
, is usually also present in the former Soviet Union
, due to union rules. Navigators are no longer trained and this profession will become obsolete with the retirement of older Soviet era planes.
The plane's avionics
suite, for the first time in the Soviet Union, is built to America
n airworthiness standards. The latest variant (Tu-154M-100, introduced 1998) includes an NVU-B3 Doppler
navigation system, a triple autopilot
, which provides an automatic ILS approach according to ICAO category II weather minima, an autothrottle
, a Doppler drift and speed measure system (DISS), "Kurs-MP" radio navigation suite and others. Modern upgrades normally include a TCAS, GPS and other modern systems, mostly American or EU-made.
Early versions of the Tu-154 cannot be modified to meet the current Stage III noise regulation
s and are banned from flying where those regulations are in force, such as Europe. The Tu-154M may use hush kit
s to meet Stage III and theoretically Stage IV. However current European Union
regulations forbid the use of hush kits to meet Stage IV. The Tu-154M would need to be re-engined to meet Stage IV within the EU, an extensive and potentially expensive upgrade.
, many of the Tu-154s in service have been hush-kitted, and some converted to freighters.
Tu-154
Tu-154A
Tu-154B
Tu-154B-1
Tu-154B-2
Tu-154S
Tu-154M
Tu-154M-LK-1
Tu-154M-ON Monitoring Aircraft
Tu-154M-100
As of 24 November 2011 108 Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft (all variants) remained in airline
service.
As of 20 February 2011 in Iran
, all the remaining numbers of this aircraft were grounded after two recent incidents. Major operators include:
Abakan Air Enterprise, Aerokuznetsk, Aeroservice Kazakhstan, Aerotrans, Aerovolga, Air Georgia, Air Great Wall, Air Savari, AJT, Amur Avia, Asian Star, Aviaprad, Aviaprima, AVL Arkhangel, Balkan Holidays Air, Baltic Express, Barnaul Air, Bratsk Air, Chelal, Chernomoravia, China Glory, China Xinjiang, Chita Avia, Diamond Sakha, East Line, Elk Estonian, Georgia Air Prague, Gomel UAD, Imair, Iron Dragonfly, Khabarovsk Aero, Latpass, Macedonia Airservice, Moscow Airways, Murmansk Air, Nizhny Novgorod Air, Orbi Georgian, Sakha Avia, Surgut Avia, Tomsk Air, Transeuropean, Turanair, Tyumen Airlines, Ulyanovsk Airlines, Vitair.
Afghanistan
Azerbaijan
Georgia (country)
Kazakhstan
Libya
Republic of Macedonia
Moldova
Mongolia
Pakistan
Slovakia
Djibouti
Yemen
: People's Liberation Army Air Force
: Mongolian Air Force
: Korean People's Air Force
: Polish Air Force
– 1 Tu-154M in service, 1 Tu-154M crashed in 2010
.
: Russian Air Force
: Slovak Air Force
: Military of Turkmenistan
– 2 Tu-154B aircraft in service.
: Ukrainian Air Force
: Uzbekistan Air Force
One 154B retired 1988; one 154M retired April 2010, replaced by A319 CFM
: Czechoslovakian Air Force (passed on to successor states)
: Czech Air Force
(replaced by Airbus A319
CJ)
: Cuban Air Force (out of service)
: East German Air Force (passed on to FRG)
: Luftwaffe
(1 lost in mid-air collision, the other one sold)
: Soviet Air Force
(passed on to successor states)
shoot-down by Ukraine
, several from poor runway conditions in winter (including one in which the airplane struck snow plow
s on the runway), cargo overloading in the lapse of post-Soviet federal safety standards, and mid-air collisions due to faulty air traffic control
. Other incidents resulted from mechanical problems (two cases prior to 2001), running out of fuel on unscheduled routes, pilot errors (including flight training for new crews), and cargo fires. The Tu-154 is described as having an average (or better than expected) safety record considering its length of service and heavy use in demanding conditions where other airliners are unable to operate. On January 2, 2011, Russia's Federal Transport Oversight Agency advised airlines to stop using remaining examples of the Tu-154 (B variant) until the fatal fire incident in Surgut
had been investigated. Its operation in Iran, which is subject to an aircraft parts embargo, ceased in February 2011 due to a number of incidents involving the type (almost 9% of all Tu-154 losses have occurred in Iran) In 2010 there were two fatal losses of the Tu-154 due to pilor error and/or weather conditions (a Polish presidential jet attempting to land at an airfield in heavy fog and a Russian-registered plane that suffered engine stall after a crew member inactivated a fuel transfer pump). Following these accidents, in March 2011 the Russian Federal Bureau of Aviation recommended a withdrawal of remaining Tu-154M from service. In December 2010, Uzbekistan Airways also declared that it will cease to operate Tu-154s from 2011.
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
: Careless) is a three-engine
Trijet
A Trijet is an aircraft powered by three jet engines. Early twin-jet designs were limited by the FAA's "60-minute rule", whereby the flight path of twin-engined jetliners was restricted to within 60 minutes' flying time from a suitable airport, in case of engine failure. In 1964 this rule was...
medium-range
Flight length
In aviation, the flight length is defined as the time airborne during a flight.- Domestic :A short-haul domestic flight is commonly categorized into being no longer than 1.5 hours in length, meaning that all domestic flights within a country such as the United Kingdom are short-haul...
narrow-body
Narrow-body aircraft
A narrow-body aircraft is an airliner with a fuselage aircraft cabin width typically of 3 to 4 metres , and airline seat arranged 2 to 6 abreast along a single aisle...
airliner
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
designed in the mid 1960s and manufactured by Tupolev
Tupolev
Tupolev is a Russian aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Basmanny District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. Known officially as Public Stock Company Tupolev, it is the successor of the Tupolev OKB or Tupolev Design Bureau headed by the Soviet aerospace engineer A.N. Tupolev...
. As the mainstay 'workhorse' of Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and (subsequently) 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...
n airlines for several decades, it serviced over a sixth of the world's landmass and carried half of all passengers flown by Aeroflot
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...
and its subsidiaries (137.5 million/year or 243.8 billion passenger kilometers in 1990). Having been exported and operated by 17 non-Russian airlines and a number of air force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
s, it remained the standard domestic route airliner of Russia and former Soviet states until the mid 2000s.
With a cruising speed of 975 kilometres per hour (605.8 mph), the Tu-154 is one of the fastest civilian aircraft in operation and has a range of 5280 kilometres (3,280.8 mi). Capable of operating from unpaved and gravel airfields, it was widely used in extreme Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
conditions of Russia's northern and eastern regions where other airliners were unable to operate and where service facilities were very basic. With a service life of 45,000 hours (18,000 cycles) but capable of 80,000 hours with upgrades, it is expected to continue operations until 2016, although noise regulation
Noise regulation
Noise regulation includes statutes or guidelines relating to sound transmission established by national, state or provincial and municipal levels of government. After the watershed passage of the United States Noise Control Act of 1972, other local and state governments passed further regulations...
s have seen services to western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and other areas restricted. In January 2010, Russian flag carrier
Flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...
Aeroflot announced the retirement of its Tu-154 fleet after 40 years service with the last scheduled flight being Aeroflot Flight 736 from Ekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
on 31 December 2009.
Since 1968 there have been 39 fatal incidents involving the Tu-154, most of which were caused either by factors unrelated to the aircraft or by its extensive use in demanding conditions.
Development
The Tu-154 was developed to meet Aeroflot's requirement to replace the jet-powered Tu-104Tupolev Tu-104
The Tupolev Tu-104 was a twin-engined medium-range turbojet-powered Soviet airliner and the world's first successful jet airliner...
, the Antonov An-10 'Ukraine'
Antonov An-10
The Antonov An-10 was a four-engined turboprop passenger transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union.-Design and development:...
and the Ilyushin Il-18
Ilyushin Il-18
The Ilyushin Il-18 is a large turboprop airliner that became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era as well as one of the most popular and durable, having first flown in 1957 and still in use over 50 years later. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades...
turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
s. The requirements called for either a payload capacity of 16–18 t (35,274–39,683.2 lb) with a range
Range (aircraft)
The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing, as limited by fuel capacity in powered aircraft, or cross-country speed and environmental conditions in unpowered aircraft....
of 2850 – while cruising at a speed of 900 km/h (559.2 mph), or a payload of 5.8 tonnes (12,786.8 lb) with a range of 5800–7000 km (3,604–4,349.6 mi) while cruising at 850 km/h (528.2 mph). A take-off distance of 2600 metres (8,530.2 ft) at maximum take-off weight
Maximum Take-Off Weight
The Maximum Takeoff Weight or Maximum Takeoff Mass of an aircraft is the maximum weight at which the pilot of the aircraft is allowed to attempt to take off, due to structural or other limits. The analogous term for rockets is Gross Lift-Off Mass, or GLOW...
was also stipulated as a requirement. Conceptually similar to the British Hawker Siddeley Trident
Hawker Siddeley Trident
The Hawker Siddeley HS 121 Trident was a British short/medium-range three-engined jet airliner designed by de Havilland and built by Hawker Siddeley in the 1960s and 1970s...
, which first flew in 1962, and the Boeing 727
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
, which first flew in 1963, the medium-range Tu-154 would be marketed by Tupolev at the same time as Ilyushin was marketing the long-range Ilyushin Il-62
Ilyushin Il-62
The Ilyushin Il-62 is a Soviet long-range jet airliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As successor to the popular turbo-prop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 passengers, the Il-62 was the largest jet airliner when it first flew in 1963. It entered Aeroflot service on 15 September 1967 with...
. The Soviet Ministry of Aircraft Industry chose the Tu-154 as it incorporated the latest in Soviet aircraft design and best met Aeroflot's anticipated requirements for the 1970s and 1980s.
The first project chief was Sergey Yeger but in 1964, Dimitriy S. Markov assumed that position. In 1975 he turned it over to Aleksandr S. Shengardt.
The Tu-154 first flew
Maiden flight
The maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. This is similar to a ship's maiden voyage....
on 4 October 1968. The first deliveries to Aeroflot were in 1970 with freight (mail) services beginning in May 1971 and passenger services in February 1972. There was still limited production of the 154M model as of January 2009, despite previous announcements of the end of production in 2006. 1025 Tu-154s have been built, 214 of which are still in service as of 14 December 2009.
Design
The Tu-154 is powered by three rear-mounted low-bypass turbofan engines arranged similarly to those of the Boeing 727Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
, but it is slightly larger than its American counterpart. Both the 727 and the Tu-154 use an S-duct
S-duct
An S-duct is a unique type of jet engine intake duct, used in several types of trijet aircraft. In this configuration, the intake is in the upper rear center of the aircraft, just below the stabilizer, while the exhaust is at the rear of the aircraft. The S-duct is located in the tail, or...
for the middle (number 2) engine. The original model had Kuznetsov NK-8-2
Kuznetsov NK-8
The NK-8 was a low-bypass turbofan engine built by the Kuznetsov Design Bureau, in the 20,000 lbf thrust class. It powered production models of the Ilyushin Il-62 and the Tupolev Tu-154A and B models.-External links: - NK-8...
, while the Tu-154M has Soloviev
Soloviev
Soloviev was a Soviet design bureau for aircraft engines, led by Pavel Aleksandrovich Soloviev. It first became notable for the D-15 engine that powered the Myasishchev M-50 in 1957. Other notable designs included the D-25 turboshaft and D-20 and D-30 turbofans.Following the dissolution of the...
D-30KU-154
Soloviev D-30
- External links :* * * *...
engines. All Tu-154 aircraft models have a higher thrust-to-weight ratio
Thrust-to-weight ratio
Thrust-to-weight ratio is a ratio of thrust to weight of a rocket, jet engine, propeller engine, or a vehicle propelled by such an engine. It is a dimensionless quantity and is an indicator of the performance of the engine or vehicle....
than that of the 727 – this gives them superior performance, although at the expense of poorer fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the efficiency of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier fuel into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, which in turn may vary per application, and this spectrum of variance is...
, which became an important factor in later decades as fuel costs grew.
The cabin of the Tu-154, although of the same six-abreast seating layout, gives the impression of an oval interior, with a lower ceiling than is common on Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
and Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
airliners. The passenger cabin accommodates 128 passengers in two-class layout and 164 passengers in single-class layout, and up to 180 passengers in high-density layout. The layout can be modified to what is called a winter version where some seats are taken out and a wardrobe is installed for passenger coats. The passenger doors are also smaller than on its Boeing and Airbus counterparts. Furthermore, luggage space in the overhead compartments is very limited.
Like the Tupolev Tu-134
Tupolev Tu-134
The Tupolev Tu-134 is a twin-engined airliner, similar to the American Douglas DC-9 and the French Sud Aviation Caravelle, and built in the Soviet Union from 1966–1984. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain other Russian airliners , it can operate from unpaved...
, the Tu-154 has a wing swept back
Swept wing
A swept wing is a wing planform favored for high subsonic jet speeds first investigated by Germany during the Second World War. Since the introduction of the MiG-15 and North American F-86 which demonstrated a decisive superiority over the slower first generation of straight-wing jet fighters...
at 35° at the quarter-chord
Chord (aircraft)
In aeronautics, chord refers to the imaginary straight line joining the trailing edge and the center of curvature of the leading edge of the cross-section of an airfoil...
line. The British Hawker Siddeley Trident
Hawker Siddeley Trident
The Hawker Siddeley HS 121 Trident was a British short/medium-range three-engined jet airliner designed by de Havilland and built by Hawker Siddeley in the 1960s and 1970s...
has the same sweepback angle, while the Boeing 727 has a slightly smaller sweepback angle of 32°. The wing also has anhedral
Anhedral
* Anhedral angle, the downward angle from horizontal of the wings or tailplane of a fixed-wing aircraft* Anhedral , a rock texture without crystal faces or cross-section shape in thin section...
(downward sweep) which is distinguishing feature of Russian low-wing airliners designed during this era. Most Western low-wing airliners such as the contemporary Boeing 727 have Dihedral (upward sweep). The anhedral means that Russian airliners have poor lateral stability compared to Western ones, but also have weaker dutch roll
Dutch roll
Dutch roll is a type of aircraft motion, consisting of an out-of-phase combination of "tail-wagging" and rocking from side to side. This yaw-roll coupling is one of the basic flight dynamic modes...
tendencies, eliminating the need for a yaw damper
Yaw damper
A yaw damper is a device used on many aircraft to damp the rolling and yawing oscillations due to Dutch roll mode. It involves yaw rate sensors and a processor that provides a signal to an actuator connected to the rudder...
.
Landing Gear
Landing Gear is Devin the Dude's fifth studio album. It was released on October 7, 2008. It was his first studio album since signing with the label Razor & Tie. It features a high-profile guest appearance from Snoop Dogg. As of October 30, 2008, the album has sold 18,906 copies.-Track...
enabling it to land on unpaved runways, once common in rural areas of the Soviet Union. The aircraft has two six-wheel main bogies fitted with large low-pressure tires that retract into pods extending from the trailing edge
Trailing edge
The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge rejoins. Essential control surfaces are attached here to redirect the air flow and exert a controlling force by changing its momentum...
s of the wings (a common Tupolev feature), plus a two-wheel nose gear unit. Soft oleo struts (shock absorbers) provide a much smoother ride on bumpy airfields than most airliners, which only very rarely operate on such poor surfaces.
The original requirement was to have a three-person flight 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...
– captain, first officer and flight engineer
Flight engineer
Flight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing , rotary wing , and space flight .As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs...
– as opposed to 4/5-person crew on other Soviet airliners. A fourth crew member, a navigator
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
, is usually also present in the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, due to union rules. Navigators are no longer trained and this profession will become obsolete with the retirement of older Soviet era planes.
The plane's avionics
Avionics
Avionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
suite, for the first time in the Soviet Union, is built to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n airworthiness standards. The latest variant (Tu-154M-100, introduced 1998) includes an NVU-B3 Doppler
Doppler radar
A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that makes use of the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by beaming a microwave signal towards a desired target and listening for its reflection, then analyzing how the frequency of the returned signal has been...
navigation system, a triple 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...
, which provides an automatic ILS approach according to ICAO category II weather minima, an autothrottle
Autothrottle
An autothrottle allows a pilot to control the power setting of an aircraft's engines by specifying a desired flight characteristic, rather than manually controlling fuel flow...
, a Doppler drift and speed measure system (DISS), "Kurs-MP" radio navigation suite and others. Modern upgrades normally include a TCAS, GPS and other modern systems, mostly American or EU-made.
Early versions of the Tu-154 cannot be modified to meet the current Stage III noise regulation
Noise regulation
Noise regulation includes statutes or guidelines relating to sound transmission established by national, state or provincial and municipal levels of government. After the watershed passage of the United States Noise Control Act of 1972, other local and state governments passed further regulations...
s and are banned from flying where those regulations are in force, such as Europe. The Tu-154M may use hush kit
Hush kit
A hush kit is a device for reducing noise from an engine; most commonly the term refers to devices which reduce noise emissions from low-bypass turbofan engines, as fitted to older commercial aircraft ....
s to meet Stage III and theoretically Stage IV. However current European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
regulations forbid the use of hush kits to meet Stage IV. The Tu-154M would need to be re-engined to meet Stage IV within the EU, an extensive and potentially expensive upgrade.
Variants
Many variants of this airliner have been built. Like its western counterpart, the 727Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
, many of the Tu-154s in service have been hush-kitted, and some converted to freighters.
Tu-154
- Tu-154 production started in 1970, while first passenger flight was performed at 9 February 1972. Powered by Kuznetsov NK-8-2 turbofans, it carried 164 passengers. About 42 were built.
Tu-154A
- The first upgraded version of the original Tu-154, the A model, in production since 1974, added center-section fuel tanks and more emergency exits, while engines were upgraded to higher-thrust Kuznetsov NK-8-2U. Other upgrades include automatic flaps/slats and stabilizer controls and modified avionics. Max. take-off weight – 94,000 kg (207,235 lb). There were 15 different interior layouts for the different domestic and international customers of the airplane, seating between 144 and 152 passengers. The easiest way to tell the A model from the base model is by looking at the spike at the junction of the fin and tail; this is a fat bullet on the A model rather than a slender spike on the base model.
Tu-154B
- As the original Tu-154 and Tu-154A suffered wing cracks after only a few years in service, a version with a new, stronger wing, designated Tu-154B, went into production in 1975. It also had an extra fuel tank in fuselage, extra emergency exits in the tail, and the maximum take-off weight increased to 98,000 kg (216,053 lb). Also important to Aeroflot was that the increased passenger capacity led to lower operating costs. As long as the airplane had the NK-8-2U engines the only way to improve the economics of the airplane was to spread costs across more seats. The autopilotAutopilotAn 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...
was certified for ICAO Category II automatic approaches. Most previously built Tu-154 and Tu-154A were also modified into this variant, with the replacement of the wing. Max. take-off weight increased to 96,000 kg (211,644 lb). 111 were built.
Tu-154B-1
- Aeroflot wanted this version for increased revenue on domestic routes. It carried 160 passengers. This version also had some minor modifications to fuel system, avionics, air conditioning, landing gear. 64 were built from 1977–1978.
Tu-154B-2
- A minor modernization of Tu-154B-1. The airplane was designed to be converted from the 160 passenger version to a 180 passenger version by removing the galley. The procedure took about two and a half hours. Some of the earlier Tu-154B modified to that standard. Max. take-off weight increased to 98,000 kg (216,053 lb), later to 100,000 kg (220,462 lb). 311 aircraft were built, including VIP versions, a few of them are still in use.
Tu-154S
- The Tu-154S is an all-cargo or freighter version of the Tu-154B, using a strengthened floor, and adding a forward cargo door on the port side of the fuselage. The airplane could carry 9 Soviet PAV-3 pallets. Max. payload – 20,000 kg (44,092 lb). There were plans for 20 aircraft, but only nine aircraft were converted; two from Tu-154 model and seven from Tu-154B model. Trials were held in the early 1980's and the aircraft was authorized regular operations in 1984. By 1997 all had been retired.
Tu-154M
- The Tu-154M and Tu-154M Lux are the most highly upgraded version, which first flew in 1982 and entered mass production in 1984. It uses more fuel-efficient Soloviev D-30Soloviev D-30- External links :* * * *...
KU-154 turbofans. Together with significant aerodynamic refinement, this led to much lower fuel consumption and therefore longer range, as well as lower operating costs. The aircraft has new double-slotted (instead of triple-slotted) flaps, with an extra 36-degree position (in addition to existing 15, 28 and 45-degree positions on older versions), which allows reduction of noise on approach. It also has a relocated auxiliary power unitAuxiliary power unitAn auxiliary power unit is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft, as well as some large land vehicles.-Function:...
and numerous other improvements. Maximum takeoff weight increased first to 100,000 kg (220,462 lb), then to 102,000 kg (224,872 lb). Some aircraft are certified to 104,000 kg (229,281 lb). About 320 were manufactured. Mass production ended in 2006, though limited manufacturing continued as of January 2009.(photo link) No new airframes have been built since the early 1990s, and production since then involved assembling airplanes from components on hand. Chinese Tu-154MD electronic intelligence aircraft carries a large-size synthetic aperture radar(SAR) under its mainframe.
Tu-154M-LK-1
- Cosmonaut Trainer. This was a Salon VIP aircraft modified to train cosmonauts to fly the Buran reusable spacecraft, the SovietSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
equivalent of the US Space ShuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
. The Tu-154 was used because the Buran required a steep descent, and the Tu-154 was capable of replicating that. The cabin featured trainee work-stations, one of which was the same as the Buran's flightdeck. The forward baggage compartment was converted into a camera bay, because the aircraft was also used to train cosmonauts in observation and photographic techniques.
Tu-154M-ON Monitoring Aircraft
- GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
modified one of the Tu-154s it had on hand from the former East German Air Force into an observation airplane. This airplane was involved with the Open SkiesTreaty on Open SkiesThe Treaty on Open Skies entered into force on January 1, 2002, and currently has 34 States Parties. It establishes a program of unarmed aerial surveillance flights over the entire territory of its participants...
inspection flights. It was converted at the Elbe Aircraft Plant (Elbe Flugzeugwerke)EADS EFWEADS EFW is a subsidiary and business unit of EADS in Dresden. It is located at the Dresden Airport and became the centre of freighter aircraft conversion in the EADS group.- History :...
in DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, and flew in 1996. After two dozen monitoring missions, it was lost in a mid-air collision in 1997.
- The Russians also converted a Tu-154M to serve as an Open SkiesTreaty on Open SkiesThe Treaty on Open Skies entered into force on January 1, 2002, and currently has 34 States Parties. It establishes a program of unarmed aerial surveillance flights over the entire territory of its participants...
Monitoring aircraft. They used the Tu-154M-LK-1, and converted it to a Tu-154M-ON. When the aircraft is not flying over North America, it is used to ferry cosmonauts around. The ChineseChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
are also believed to have converted one Tu-154 to an electronic countermeasuresElectronic countermeasuresAn electronic countermeasure is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar or other detection systems, like infrared or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy...
aircraft.
Tu-154M-100
- Design of this variant started in 1994, but the first aircraft were not delivered until 1998. It is an upgraded version with western avionics, including the Flight Management Computer, GPS, EGPWS, TCAS, and other modern systems. The airplane could carry up to 157 passengers. The cabin featured an automatic oxygen system and larger overhead bins. Only three were produced, as payment of debts owed by Russia to SlovakiaSlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. Three aircraft were delivered in 1998 to Slovak AirlinesSlovak AirlinesSlovak Airlines was an airline based in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was the flag carrier of the Slovak Republic operating a scheduled service to Moscow, Brussels and international charter flights to Russia, Spain, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Tunisia and Italy. The company also ran wet-lease...
, and sold back to Russia in 2003.
Civil operators
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
service.
As of 20 February 2011 in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, all the remaining numbers of this aircraft were grounded after two recent incidents. Major operators include:
| Airline | In Service |
|---|---|
 North Korea Air KoryoAir Koryo Air Koryo ) is the state-owned national flag carrier airline of North Korea, headquartered in Sunan-guyŏk, Pyongyang. Based at Sunan International Airport , it operates international scheduled and charter services to points in Asia and Europe.... |
4 |
 Russia Alrosa Mirny Air EnterpriseAlrosa Mirny Air Enterprise Alrosa Mirny Air Enterprise is an airline from Mirny, Russia. Its bases are at Mirny Airport and Polyarny Airport, with a focus city at Lensk Airport... |
5 |
 Iran Aria AirAria Air Aria Air is an airline based in Tehran, Iran. It operates international and domestic passenger services. Its main base is Mehrabad International Airport.- History :The airline was established and started operations in 2000 as Aria Air Tour... |
3 |
| Russia Moscow Airlines |
2 |
| Russia Aviaenergo Aviaenergo JSC Aviaenergo is a charter airline with headquarters in Moscow, Russia. It was established on 31 December 1992 and operates charter flights within Europe, the CIS and other countries from its main base at Moscow Vnukovo Airport, as well as from Sheremetyevo International Airport... |
3 |
 Belarus BelaviaBelavia Republic Unitary Enterprise "National Aircompany "Belavia" , operating as Belavia Belarusian Airlines is the national airline company of Belarus, headquartered in Minsk. The state-owned company is the Belarusian flag carrier. Belavia serves a network of routes between European cities and the... |
3 |
| Iran Eram Air Eram Air -Destinations:International:Izmir, DamascusDomestic:Tehran, Mashhad, Kish Island-Fleet:The Eram Air fleet consists of the following aircraft :*3 Tupolev Tu-154M... |
3 (grounded) |
| Russia Gazpromavia Gazpromavia Gazpromavia is an airline based in Moscow, Russia. It operates passenger and cargo charters, mainly in support of the oil and gas industry. It also operates regular domestic flights from Moscow and international charter passenger and cargo services.-History:The airline was established in March... |
3 |
| Russia KMV |
9 |
| Russia Kogalymavia |
5 |
 Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan AirlinesKyrgyzstan Airlines JSC National Air Carrier "Kyrgyzstan Airlines" was the national airline of Kyrgyzstan, with its head office on the grounds of Manas International Airport in Bishkek. It operated scheduled international and domestic services, as well as charter flights... |
2 |
| Russia South East Airlines |
5 |
| Iran Taban Air Taban Air thumb|right|A Taban Air [[BAe-146]] at [[Mehrabad Airport]], [[Iran]]. thumb|right|A Taban Air [[Tupolev Tu-154M]] at [[Shiraz International Airport]], [[Iran]].... |
1 (grounded) |
 Tajikistan Tajik Air |
6 |
| Russia Tatarstan Airlines Tatarstan Airlines Tatarstan Airlines is an airline based on the grounds of Kazan International Airport in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia. It was founded in 1993, and is the regional airline of the Republic of Tatarstan, part of the Russian Federation.-Destinations:... |
5 |
| Russia UTair Aviation |
19 |
| Russia Vladivostok Air |
3 |
| Russia Yakutia Airlines Yakutia Airlines Yakutia Airlines is an airline based in Yakutsk, Russia. It operates domestic passenger services in Russia and within the CIS, as well as charters to destinations in Europe from its hubs at Yakutsk Airport and Moscow's Vnukovo Airport.-History:... |
6 |
Former civil operators
Past and present operators:Abakan Air Enterprise, Aerokuznetsk, Aeroservice Kazakhstan, Aerotrans, Aerovolga, Air Georgia, Air Great Wall, Air Savari, AJT, Amur Avia, Asian Star, Aviaprad, Aviaprima, AVL Arkhangel, Balkan Holidays Air, Baltic Express, Barnaul Air, Bratsk Air, Chelal, Chernomoravia, China Glory, China Xinjiang, Chita Avia, Diamond Sakha, East Line, Elk Estonian, Georgia Air Prague, Gomel UAD, Imair, Iron Dragonfly, Khabarovsk Aero, Latpass, Macedonia Airservice, Moscow Airways, Murmansk Air, Nizhny Novgorod Air, Orbi Georgian, Sakha Avia, Surgut Avia, Tomsk Air, Transeuropean, Turanair, Tyumen Airlines, Ulyanovsk Airlines, Vitair.
AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
- Ariana Afghan AirlinesAriana Afghan AirlinesAriana Afghan Airlines Co. Ltd. is the oldest and the national airline of Afghanistan, and is currently the largest Afghan airline, headquartered in Kabul...
- Albanian AirlinesAlbanian AirlinesAlbanian Airlines MAK Sh. p.k. was an airline based in Tirana, Albania. It operated scheduled international services. Its main hub was Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza...
- Armenian AirlinesArmenian AirlinesArmenian Airlines was the state-owned national airline of Armenia.- History :Armenian Airlines was established shortly after independence in 1991 from Aeroflot's Armenia directorate, and was the sole carrier in Armenia until 2002, when private companies Armenian International Airways and Armavia...
Azerbaijan
- Azerbaijan AirlinesAzerbaijan AirlinesAzerbaijan Airlines is the national flag carrier of Azerbaijan with a main base in the Heydar Aliyev International Airport, Baku, operating a network of scheduled passenger and cargo services. Member of IATA....
- Turan AirTuran AirTuran Air is an airline based in Baku, Azerbaijan. It operates flights around Russia, Turkey and other regional destinations.-Destinations:*Azerbaijan**Baku **Ganja *Russia...
- Air ViaAir ViaAir VIA is a charter airline based in Varna, Bulgaria, operating charter flights on behalf of the largest European tour operators, most of them from a broad range of European destinations into Varna Airport and Burgas Airport, as well wet lease subservices....
- BH AirBH AirBH Air Ltd., or Balkan Holidays Airlines, is an airline headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is a branch of tour operator Balkan Holidays International and as such offers charter flights to the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Germany, Israel and Switzerland, as well as ad hoc charters to other...
- Bulgarian Air CharterBulgarian Air CharterBulgarian Air Charter is a charter airline based in Sofia, Bulgaria. It operates charter services for tour operators between the two Bulgarian Black Sea airports Burgas Airport, Varna Airport and in winter season to Plovdiv Airport and Sofia Airport to European countries. Its main base is Sofia...
- Balkan Bulgarian AirlinesBalkan Bulgarian AirlinesBalkan Airlines was Bulgaria's government-owned flag carrier between 1947 and 2002. During the 1970s the airliner became a significant European carrier. The company encountered financial instability following the fall of communism in Eastern Europe...
- Hemus AirHemus AirHemus Air was an airline based in Sofia, Bulgaria. It operated scheduled domestic and international services from Sofia and Varna, as well as charter, cargo and air ambulance services. Its main base was Sofia Airport, with a hub at Varna Airport...
- Civil Aviation Administration of ChinaCivil Aviation Administration of ChinaThe Civil Aviation Administration of China , formerly the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China , is the aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents...
- China Northwest AirlinesChina Northwest AirlinesChina Northwest Airlines Co., Ltd. was an airline based in the People's Republic of China. It started operations in 1989. In 2002, the airline, along with China Yunnan Airlines merged with China Eastern Airlines....
- China Southwest AirlinesChina Southwest AirlinesChina Southwest Airlines was an airline based in the People's Republic of China. It was merged into Air China in 2002.China Southwest Airlines was headquartered at Chengdu, Sichuan Province and also maintained a hub at Chongqing. The airline was the sole carrier flying to Lhasa until 2002...
- China United AirlinesChina United AirlinesChina United Airlines Co., Ltd. is an airline based in Beijing, People's Republic of China, operating scheduled flights and charter services in co-operation with local enterprises out of Beijing Nanyuan Airport, making it the only commercial airline using this airport.-History and Development:China...
- Sichuan AirlinesSichuan AirlinesSichuan Airlines Co., Ltd. is a regional airline headquartered on the grounds of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, Sichuan in the People's Republic of China, operating mainly scheduled domestic flights out of Chengdu Airport and Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport.- History...
- Cubana
- CSA Czech Airlines
- EgyptairEgyptAirEgyptAir is the flag carrier airline of Egypt and a member of Star Alliance. The airline is based at Cairo International Airport, its main hub, operating scheduled passenger and freight services to more than 75 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas...
Georgia (country)
- Transair GeorgiaTransair GeorgiaTransair Georgia was an airline based in Georgia.- Incidents :Transair Georgia Shootdown incidents of 1993 left 134 people dead, the first, went down in the Black Sea whilst on approach to Sukhumi Dranda Airport, the second went down on the runway at the airport, the 3rd was attacked on the...
- Malev Hungarian AirlinesMalév Hungarian AirlinesMalév Hungarian Airlines is the flag carrier and principal airline of Hungary. It has its head office in the Lurdy House in Budapest, with its main operations at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport. From there, the airline flies to 50 cities in 34 countries worldwide using a fleet of 22...
- Bon Air
- Caspian AirlinesCaspian AirlinesCaspian Airlines is an airline headquartered in Tehran, Iran. Established in 1993, it operates services between Tehran and other major cities in Iran and international flights to Syria, Turkey, UAE and Ukraine. Its main base is Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran.-History:The airline was...
- Iran Air ToursIran Air ToursIran Airtour is an airline based in Tehran, Iran. It is a subsidiary of Iran Air and operates scheduled domestic services and international services in the Middle East, as well as charter services including Europe...
(14 in storage. Unknown if they will return to flying status.) - Kish AirKish AirKish Air is an airline based in Tehran, Iran. It operates international, domestic and charter services as a scheduled carrier. Its main base is Mehrabad Airport, Tehran.-History:...
- Mahan AirMahan AirMahan Airlines, doing business as Mahan Air, is a private airline based in the Mahan Air Tower in Tehran, Iran. It operates scheduled domestic services and international flights to the Far East, Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe...
Kazakhstan
- Atyrau Airways
- Sayakhat AirlinesSayakhat AirlinesSayakhat Airlines or Sayakhat Air Company was an airline based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It operated chartered cargo and passenger flights out of Almaty International Airport.- History :...
Libya
- Libyan Arab AirlinesLibyan Arab AirlinesLibyan Airlines , known as Libyan Arab Airlines over several decades, is the national flag carrier airline of Libya. Based in Tripoli, it operates scheduled passenger and cargo services within Libya and to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the majority of which leave from Tripoli...
Republic of Macedonia
- AvioimpexAvioimpexAvioimpex was an airline carrier from the Republic of Macedonia, based out of Skopje. It operated both scheduled and charter services to and from Skopje and Ohrid.- History: Avioimpex was established as Interimpex-Avioimpex in September 1992...
Moldova
- AerocomAerocomAerocom was an airline based in Chişinău, Moldova. It was suspected to be involved in illegal weapons trade, which ultimately led to the airline being shut-down in 2004.-History:...
- Air MoldovaAir MoldovaAir Moldova is an airline with its head office on the grounds of Chişinău International Airport in Chişinău, Moldova. It is the national airline of Moldova and operates scheduled services to 17 destinations in Europe. Its main base is Chişinău International Airport. The Air Moldova air operators...
Mongolia
- MIAT Mongolian AirlinesMIAT Mongolian AirlinesMIAT Mongolian Airlines , Mongolian Civil Air Transport) is Mongolia's national airline, headquartered in the MIAT Building in Ulaanbataar, the capital...
- AeronicaAeronicaAerolíneas Nicaragüenses, operating as Aeronica, was an airline from Nicaragua. Headquartered in the capital Managua, it operated scheduled passenger flights within Central America, as well as to Mexico and the United States out of its hub at the city's Augusto C...
Pakistan
- Pakistan International AirlinesPakistan International AirlinesPakistan International Airlines Corporation commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier airline of Pakistan. The airline has its head office on the grounds of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. and operates scheduled services to 24 domestic destinations and 38 international destinations in 27...
- Shaheen Air
- LOT Polish AirlinesLOT Polish AirlinesPolskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. , trading as LOT Polish Airlines, is the flag carrier of Poland. Based in Warsaw, LOT was established in 1929, making it one of the world's oldest airlines still in operation. Using a fleet of 55 aircraft, LOT operates a complex network to 60 destinations in Europe,...
- TAROMTAROMS.C. Compania Națională de Transporturi Aeriene Române TAROM S.A., doing business as TAROM Romanian Air Transport, is the flag carrier and oldest currently operating airline of Romania. The brand name is an acronym for...
- Abakan-Avia
- AeroflotAeroflotOJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...
- Air Volga
- Airlines 400
- ALAK (airline)
- Avial (airline)
- Baikal AirlinesBaikal AirlinesOJSC "Baikal Airlines Flight 130" was an airline based in Irkutsk, Russia.- History :The airline was initially created as a sister company of Baikalavia, which was in turn a subsidiary of Aeroflot, following its mid-1992 reorganisation process....
- BAL Bashkirian AirlinesBAL Bashkirian AirlinesBAL Bashkirian Airlines was an airline with its head office on the property of Ufa Airport in Ufa, Russia. It operated regional and trunk routes from Ufa and charter services to Europe, Asia and North Africa. It filed for bankruptcy and suspended operations in April 2007...
- BuralBuralBural is an airline based in Ulan-Ude, Russia. It operates trunk and regional passenger services. Its main base is Ulan-Ude Airport.- Fleet :The Bural fleet includes the following aircraft :*5 Antonov An-2*4 Antonov An-24*6 Mil Mi-8...
- Continental AirwaysContinental AirwaysContinental Airways was a scheduled passenger airline based in Moscow, Russia. It was established in 1995 and operated out of Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, using a fleet of three Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft. In 2007, Continental Airways was shut down....
- EnkorEnkorEnkor is an airline based in Moscow, Russia. It operates scheduled international passenger services and provides technical aircraft maintenance...
- KrasAirKrasAirKrasAir or Krasnoyarsk Airlines was a Russian airline with its head office on the grounds of Krasnoyarsk Yemelyanovo Airport in Krasnoyarsk. It operated scheduled regional and international passenger services, freight transport, cargo handling and charter services from the main base is Krasnoyarsk...
- KD AviaKD AviaKD Avia, sometimes called Kaliningrad Avia, was an airline based in Kaliningrad, Russia. It operated scheduled services within Russia, CIS and Europe. Its main base was Khrabrovo Airport, Kaliningrad.- History :...
- Kuban AirlinesKuban AirlinesKuban Airlines is an airline based in Krasnodar, Russia. It operates domestic schedules within Russia and international charters. Its main base is Krasnodar International Airport. Its name comes from Kuban Province in southern Russia....
- Mavial Magadan AirlinesMavial Magadan AirlinesMavial Magadan Airlines was an airline based at Magadan, Russia, operating Tupolev Tu-154 and Ilyushin aircraft. As of summer 2006, it was the only airline flying between the Russian Far East and the American state of Alaska....
- Nordavia
- OmskaviaOmskaviaOmskavia was an airline based in Omsk, Russia. It operated domestic and international scheduled and charter, passenger, cargo and mail services, as well as aircraft maintenance...
- Orenair
- Perm AirlinesPerm AirlinesPerm Airlines was an airline based in Perm, Russia. It operated domestic and international scheduled and charter services within Russia and the CIS. Its main base was Bolshoye Savino Airport, Perm.- History :...
- Polet AirlinesPolet AirlinesCJSC «Polet Airlines» is an airline based in Voronezh, Russia. It operates a worldwide cargo and domestic passenger charter services from Voronezh, as well as regional passenger and cargo services from Sokol. Its main base is Chertovitskoye Airport, Voronezh.-History:The airline was established...
- Pulkovo Aviation EnterprisePulkovo Aviation EnterprisePulkovo Federal State Unified Aviation Service Company was an airline with its head office in Moskovsky District, Saint Petersburg, Russia. It operated the Pulkovo Airport and was 100% state owned. It was the third largest airline in Russia...
- Rossiya (airline)Rossiya (airline)Rossiya Airlines OJSC , operating as Rossiya — Russian Airlines is a secondary national airline with its head office in Saint Petersburg, Russia, resulting from the 2006 merger of the Moscow-based company of the same name and Saint Petersburg-based Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise...
- Russian Sky Airlines
- S7 AirlinesS7 AirlinesOJSC Siberia Airlines , operating as S7 Airlines, is an airline headquartered in Ob, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, with offices in Moscow. S7 Airlines has been Russia's fastest-growing airline and recently passed Aeroflot as Russia's largest domestic airline.S7 has operated scheduled passenger...
- Samara AirlinesSamara AirlinesSamara Airlines was an airline based in Samara, Russia. It operated scheduled and charter flights from Samara to destinations in Russia and other countries and charter flights to Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Spain, Turkey and United Arab Emirates...
- SibaviatransSibaviatransSibaviatrans was an airline based in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. It operated scheduled and charter passenger and cargo flights from various locations around Russia. It also provided helicopter services. It was a member of AiRUnion alliance....
- Ural AirlinesUral AirlinesUral Airlines is an airline based in Yekaterinburg, Russia, operating scheduled and chartered domestic and international flights out of Koltsovo International Airport...
- Yamal AirlinesYamal AirlinesYamal Airlines is an airline based in Salekhard, Russia. It operates regional passenger services and was established in 1997.-Destinations:As of May 2010 Yamal Airlines operates flights to the following: Armenia...
Slovakia
- Air Transport EuropeAir Transport EuropeAir Transport Europe is an airline based in Poprad, Slovakia. It operates emergency medical services, aerial works and contract helicopter services. It is also an authorised service centre for AgustaWestland and MIL helicopters. Its main base is Poprad-Tatry International Airport , with hubs at...
- Slovak AirlinesSlovak AirlinesSlovak Airlines was an airline based in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was the flag carrier of the Slovak Republic operating a scheduled service to Moscow, Brussels and international charter flights to Russia, Spain, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Tunisia and Italy. The company also ran wet-lease...
- Syrianair
- Active Air
- GreenairGreenair-Company history:Greenair was founded in 1990 to fly Turkish expatriate workers and tourists from destinations in Germany and Paris, London, Milan and Amsterdam to Turkey. This airline was a join venture with Russian investors and thus used Soviet build aircraft...
- Holiday AirlinesHoliday Airlines-History:Holiday Airlines began operations in the summer of 1994 using Airbus A320 aircraft serving mostly the German tourist market. Holiday Airlines also leased some Airbus A300s for short periods of time...
Djibouti
- Daallo AirlinesDaallo AirlinesDaallo Airlines is an airline, headquartered in the Dubai Airport Free Zone in Al Garhoud, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With its main base at Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport, the airline operates scheduled services in East Africa and the Middle East...
Yemen
- AlyemdaAlyemdaAlyemda , internationally known as Democratic Yemen Airlines or just Yemen Airlines, was the flag carrier airline of South Yemen.-History:...
- Air UkraineAir UkraineAir Ukraine was a state-owned airline from Ukraine, serving as flag carrier of the country from 1992 to 2002. Headquartered in Kiev, Air Ukraine operated scheduled passenger and cargo flights mostly on domestice routes or within the Commonwealth of Independent States, but also to other European...
- Odessa AirlinesOdessa AirlinesOdessa Airlines is an airline based in Odessa, Ukraine. It operates charter passenger services from Ukraine to destinations in Russia, Syria, Turkey and Germany. It also carries out agricultural works. Its main base is Odessa International Airport.- History :...
Current
People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force is the aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army, the military of the People's Republic of China...
: Mongolian Air Force
: Korean People's Air Force
: Polish Air Force
Polish Air Force
The Polish Air Force is the military Air Force wing of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej...
– 1 Tu-154M in service, 1 Tu-154M crashed in 2010
2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash
The 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash occurred on 10 April 2010, when a Tupolev Tu-154M aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed near the city of Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board...
.
: Russian Air Force
Russian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
: Slovak Air Force
Slovak Air Force
The Slovak Air Force, known since 2002 as the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic , is the aviation and air defense branch of the Slovak Armed Forces. Operating 70 aircraft from 3 major bases - Kuchyňa, Sliač, Prešov...
: Military of Turkmenistan
Military of Turkmenistan
The armed forces of Turkmenistan consist of an Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Troops, and Internal Troops, and a National Guard. After the fall of the Soviet Union, significant elements of the Soviet Armed Forces Turkestan Military District remained on Turkmen soil...
– 2 Tu-154B aircraft in service.
: Ukrainian Air Force
Ukrainian Air Force
The Ukrainian Air Force is a part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukrainian Air Force Command and headquarters are located in the city of Vinnytsia....
: Uzbekistan Air Force
Former
: Bulgarian Air ForceBulgarian Air Force
The Bulgarian Air Force is a branch of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, to provide aerial support and to assist the Land Forces in case of war. The Bulgarian Air...
One 154B retired 1988; one 154M retired April 2010, replaced by A319 CFM
: Czechoslovakian Air Force (passed on to successor states)
: Czech Air Force
Czech Air Force
The Czech Air Force is the air force branch of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The Air Force, with the Land Forces, comprises the Joint Forces, the main combat power of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic...
(replaced by Airbus A319
Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
CJ)
: Cuban Air Force (out of service)
: East German Air Force (passed on to FRG)
: Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
(1 lost in mid-air collision, the other one sold)
: Soviet Air Force
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
(passed on to successor states)
Incidents and accidents
As of January 2011, since 1970 there have been 110 serious incidents involving the Tu-154, and 69 hull losses, 30 of which did not involve fatalities. Of the fatal incidents, six resulted from terrorist or military action (two other war-time losses were non fatal) including an accidental missileMissile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
shoot-down by Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, several from poor runway conditions in winter (including one in which the airplane struck snow plow
Snowplow
A snowplow is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes...
s on the runway), cargo overloading in the lapse of post-Soviet federal safety standards, and mid-air collisions due to faulty air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
. Other incidents resulted from mechanical problems (two cases prior to 2001), running out of fuel on unscheduled routes, pilot errors (including flight training for new crews), and cargo fires. The Tu-154 is described as having an average (or better than expected) safety record considering its length of service and heavy use in demanding conditions where other airliners are unable to operate. On January 2, 2011, Russia's Federal Transport Oversight Agency advised airlines to stop using remaining examples of the Tu-154 (B variant) until the fatal fire incident in Surgut
Kolavia Flight 348
Kolavia Flight 348 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Surgut International Airport, Surgut, Russia, to Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia. On 1 January 2011, the Kogalymavia Tupolev Tu-154-B2 operating the flight caught fire while taxiing for take-off from Surgut. Three...
had been investigated. Its operation in Iran, which is subject to an aircraft parts embargo, ceased in February 2011 due to a number of incidents involving the type (almost 9% of all Tu-154 losses have occurred in Iran) In 2010 there were two fatal losses of the Tu-154 due to pilor error and/or weather conditions (a Polish presidential jet attempting to land at an airfield in heavy fog and a Russian-registered plane that suffered engine stall after a crew member inactivated a fuel transfer pump). Following these accidents, in March 2011 the Russian Federal Bureau of Aviation recommended a withdrawal of remaining Tu-154M from service. In December 2010, Uzbekistan Airways also declared that it will cease to operate Tu-154s from 2011.
| date (dd.mm.yyyy) |
Tail number | Location | Fatalities | Brief description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19.02.1973 |  Soviet Union CCCP-85023 |
 Czech Republic PraguePrague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million... |
66/100 | Landed 470 m short of the runway |
| 03.1973 | Soviet Union n.d. |
Soviet Union near Kiev Kiev Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press.... |
0/n.d. | Crashed |
| 07.05.1973 | Soviet Union CCCP-85030 |
Soviet Union Vnukovo |
0/6 | Crashed during training flight |
| 10.07.1974 |  Egypt SU-AXB |
Egypt Cairo Cairo Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life... |
6/6 | Crashed during training flight |
| 30.09.1975 Malév Flight 240 Malév Flight 240, was a Tupolev Tu-154 tri-motor jetliner of Malév Hungarian Airlines, which was flying on the Budapest to Beirut regular route when it crashed near the Lebanese shoreline on 30 September 1975. All 50 passengers and 10 crew on board died... |
 Hungary HA-LCI |
 Lebanon BeirutBeirut Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan... |
60/60 | Crashed in the sea on final approach in clear weather, allegedly shot down by one or two air to air missiles fired by either IDF or SDF forces. |
| 01.06.1976 | Soviet Union CCCP-85102 |
 Equatorial Guinea MalaboMalabo Malabo is the capital of Equatorial Guinea, located on the northern coast of Bioko Island on the rim of a sunken volcano.... |
46/46 | Crashed into a mountain on final approach |
| 1976 | Soviet Union CCCP-85020 |
Soviet Union Kiev Kiev Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press.... |
0/n.d. | Rough landing, written off. Now in museum |
| 02.12.1977 |  Bulgaria LZ-BTN |
Libya Benghazi Benghazi Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya... |
59/165 | Unable to land in dense fog the plane ran out of fuel searching another airfield and crash-landed |
| 23.03.1978 | Bulgaria LZ-BTB |
 Syria near DamascusDamascus Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major... |
4/4 | Crashed on final approach |
| 19.05.1978 | Soviet Union CCCP-85169 |
Soviet Union Tver oblast Tver Oblast Tver Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was named Kalinin Oblast after Mikhail Kalinin. Population: Tver Oblast is an area of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno... |
4/134 | Fuel supply turned off due to flight engineer error, crash-landed in field |
| 18.02.1978 | Soviet Union CCCP-85087 |
Soviet Union Novosibirsk Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District... |
0/n.d. | Fire onboard |
| 01.03.1980 | Soviet Union CCCP-85103 |
Soviet Union Orenburg Orenburg Orenburg is a city on the Ural River and the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies southeast of Moscow, very close to the border with Kazakhstan. Population: 546,987 ; 549,361 ; Highest point: 154.4 m... |
0/161 | Rough landing |
| 07.07.1980 | Soviet Union CCCP-85355 |
Soviet Union Alma-Ata |
164/164 | Crashed at take-off |
| 07.08.1980 |  Romania YR-TPH |
1/168 | Ditched 300 m short of runway | |
| 08.10.1980 | Soviet Union CCCP-85321 |
Soviet Union Chita |
0/n.d. | Rough landing |
| 13.06.1981 | Soviet Union CCCP-85029 |
Soviet Union Bratsk Bratsk Bratsk is a city in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir. Population: Although the name sounds like the Russian word for 'brother' , it actually comes from 'bratskiye lyudi', an old name for the Buryats.-History:The first Europeans in the area arrived... |
0/n.d. | Overran on landing, fuselage broke into two |
| 16.11.1981 | Soviet Union CCCP-85480 |
Soviet Union Norilsk Norilsk Norilsk is an industrial city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located between the Yenisei River and the Taymyr Peninsula. Population: It was granted city status in 1953. It is the northernmost city in Siberia and the world's second largest city north of the Arctic Circle... |
99/167 | Rough landing 470 m short of runway due to crew errors |
| 21.10.1981 | Hungary HA-LCF |
Czech Republic Prague Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million... |
0/81 | Rough landing due to crew error |
| 11.10.1984 Aeroflot Flight 3352 Aeroflot Flight 3352 was a Tupolev Tu-154 airline flight on a domestic route from Krasnodar to Novosibirsk, with an intermediate landing in Omsk, in the USSR. While landing at Omsk Airport on 11 October 1984, the aircraft crashed into maintenance vehicles on the runway, killing 174 people on board... |
Soviet Union CCCP-85243 |
Soviet Union Omsk Omsk -History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes... |
4+174/179 | Collided with maintenance vehicles on landing due to controller error |
| 23.12.1984 | Soviet Union CCCP-85338 |
Soviet Union Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. It is the third largest city in Siberia, with the population of 973,891. Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one of Russia's largest producers of... |
110/110 | Engine fire and hydraulics fault |
| 10.07.1985 Aeroflot Flight 7425 Aeroflot Flight 7425 refers to a Tupolev Tu-154B-2, registration CCCP-85311, that was operating a domestic scheduled Tashkent–Karshi–Orenburg–Leningrad passenger service under the airline's Uzbekistan division, that crashed near Uchkuduk, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union, while en route its second leg... |
Soviet Union CCCP-85311 |
Soviet Union Uchkuduk |
200/200 | Overloaded plane stalled and crashed due to crew errors |
| 1986 |  South Yemen 7O-ACN |
South Yemen Aden Aden Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a... |
n.d. | Overran on landing, never repaired |
| 21.05.1986 | Soviet Union CCCP-85327 |
Soviet Union Domodedovo |
0/175 | Deformation of fuselage due to crew errors during flight |
| 18.01.1988 | Soviet Union CCCP-85254 |
Soviet Union Krasnovodsk |
11/143 | Rough landing, plane broke into two |
| 08.03.1988 | Soviet Union CCCP-85413 |
Soviet Union Vetschyovo |
9/n.d. | Blown up by hijackers (Ovechkin family) |
| 24.09.1988 | Soviet Union CCCP-85479 |
Syria Aleppo Aleppo Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant... |
0/168 | Broke into two on landing, was caught by wind shear |
| 24.09.1988 | Soviet Union CCCP-85617 |
Soviet Union Norilsk Norilsk Norilsk is an industrial city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located between the Yenisei River and the Taymyr Peninsula. Population: It was granted city status in 1953. It is the northernmost city in Siberia and the world's second largest city north of the Arctic Circle... |
0/n.d. | Rough landing, turned into training mock-up |
| 13.01.1989 | Soviet Union CCCP-85067 |
 Liberia MonroviaMonrovia Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately... |
0/n.d. | Aborted take-off and runway overrun due to overloading |
| 09.02.1989 | Romania YR-TPJ |
Romania Bucharest Bucharest Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River.... |
5/5 | Crashed at take-off due to engine failure |
| 20.10.1990 | Soviet Union CCCP-85268 |
Soviet Union Kutaisi Kutaisi Kutaisi is Georgia's second largest city and the capital of the western region of Imereti. It is 221 km to the west of Tbilisi.-Geography:... |
0/171 | Nosegear collapsed due to overloading |
| 17.11.1990 | Soviet Union CCCP-85664 |
Czech Republic Czech republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest.... |
0/6 | Fire onboard, the plane burned out after emergency landing |
| 23.05.1991 | Soviet Union CCCP-85097 |
Soviet Union Leningrad Leningrad Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province... |
2+13/178 | Rough landing, nosegear collapsed and plane broke into two |
| 14.09.1991 |  Cuba CU-T1227 |
 Mexico Mexico CityMexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
0/112 | Overran on landing |
| 05.06.1992 | Bulgaria LZ-BTD |
Bulgaria Varna Varna Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011... |
0/130 | Overran on landing in heavy rain |
| 18.06.1992 | Russia RA-85282 |
Russia Bratsk Bratsk Bratsk is a city in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir. Population: Although the name sounds like the Russian word for 'brother' , it actually comes from 'bratskiye lyudi', an old name for the Buryats.-History:The first Europeans in the area arrived... |
1+0/0 | Burned out during refueling |
| 18.06.1992 | RA-85234 | Bratsk Bratsk Bratsk is a city in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir. Population: Although the name sounds like the Russian word for 'brother' , it actually comes from 'bratskiye lyudi', an old name for the Buryats.-History:The first Europeans in the area arrived... |
0/0 | Burned out in the same incident |
| 20.07.1992 | Georgia (country) 4L-85222 |
Georgia (country) Tbilisi Tbilisi Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936... |
4+24/24 | Crashed at take-off due to overloading |
| 01.08.1992 | Afghanistan YA-TAP |
Afghanistan Kabul Kabul Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan... |
0/0 | Destroyed in the airport by mortar fire |
| 05.09.1992 |  Ukraine UR-85269 |
Ukraine Kiev Kiev Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press.... |
0/147 | Rough landing with left gear still retracted |
| 13.10.1992 | Russia RA-85528 |
Russia Vladivostok Vladivostok The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m... |
0/67 | The plane was unable to take-off due to overloading |
| 05.12.1992 |  Armenia EK-85105 |
Armenia Erevan |
0/154 | Overran on landing |
| 19.01.1993 |  Uzbekistan UK-85533 |
 India DelhiDelhi Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census... |
0/165 | Rough landing due to crew error |
| 08.02.1993 | Iran EP-ITD |
Iran near Tehran Tehran Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to... |
2+131/131 | Mid-air collision with Su-22 |
| 22.09.1993 | Georgia (country) 4L-85163 |
Georgia (country) Sukhumi Sukhumi Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:... |
108/132 | Shot down by missile |
| 23.09.1993 | Georgia (country) 4L-85359 |
Georgia (country) Sukhumi Sukhumi Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:... |
0/0 | Damaged by shelling, never repaired |
| 25.12.1993 | Russia RA-85296 |
 Chechen Republic of Ichkeria GroznyGrozny Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989... |
0/172 | Rough landing, nosegear collapsed. Destroyed by air strike in 1994 |
| 03.01.1994 | Russia RA-85656 |
Russia Irkutsk Irkutsk Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov... |
1+125/125 | Engine fire at take-off, hydraulics failed |
| 06.06.1994 China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 was a domestic flight from Xian to Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. On June 6, 1994, this aircraft, a Tupolev Tu-154M, broke up in-flight and crashed as a result of an autopilot malfunction which caused violent shaking and overstressed the... |
 People's Republic of China B-2610 |
People's Republic of China Xian |
160/160 | Disintegrated in mid-air due to errors in auto-pilot settings |
| 21.01.1995 | Kazakhstan UP-85455 |
Pakistan Karachi Karachi Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million... |
0/117 | The plane was unable to take-off due to overloading |
| 07.12.1995 | Russia RA-85164 |
Russia near Khabarovsk Khabarovsk Khabarovsk is the largest city and the administrative center of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia... |
98/98 | Asymmetrical fuel supply from wing tanks, the captain mistakenly increased the right heel and the plane crashed |
| 29.08.1996 Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 was an international charter flight that, on 29 August 1996 at 10:22:23 Central European Summer Time, crashed in Operafjellet, Svalbard, Norway. All 141 people aboard the Tupolev Tu-154M were killed during the approach to Svalbard Airport, Longyear, making it the... |
Russia RA-85621 |
 Norway LongyearbyenLongyearbyen Longyearbyen is the largest settlement and the administrative centre of Svalbard, Norway. It is located on the western coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago, on the southern side on Adventfjorden , which continues inland with Adventdalen... |
141/141 | Crashed in the mountain on final approach due to crew error |
| 13.09.1997 |  Germany 11+02 |
 Namibia NamibiaNamibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March... |
24/24 | Mid-air collision with USAF C-141 |
| 15.12.1997 | Tajikistan EY-85281 |
 United Arab Emirates SharjaSharjah (city) Sharjah is the third largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula.Sharjah is the seat of government of the emirate of Sharjah... |
85/86 | Landed short of runway, crew error |
| 29.08.1998 | Cuba CU-T1264 |
 Ecuador QuitoQuito San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains... |
10+70/91 | Aborted take-off, overran and caught fire |
| 24.02.1999 | People's Republic of China B-2622 |
People's Republic of China Ruian Ruian Rui'an is a city on the eastern coast of China, in the south of Zhejiang province. It is a county-level city administrated by the nearby prefecture-level city of Wenzhou. It currently has a population of 1,125,000 people covering 1271 km2, 3037 km2 including sea... |
61/61 | Crashed on final approach due to technical failure |
| 04.07.2000 MALÉV Flight 262 Malév Flight 262 was a flight from Budapest Ferihegy International Airport to Thessaloniki International Airport. On 4 July 2000, a Tupolev Tu-154 used on this flight performed a gear-up touchdown during the landing at Thessaloniki, skidded on the runway, but was able to take off and land normally... |
Hungary HA-LCR |
 Greece Saloniki |
0/76 | Was unable to go around due to intense braking to avoid collision with another aircraft on runway |
| 03.07.2001 Vladivostok Air Flight 352 Vladivostok Air Flight 352 was a scheduled passenger flight from Yekaterinburg, Russia to Vladivostok via Irkutsk which, on 4 July 2001 lost control and crashed while approaching Irkutsk Airport... |
Russia RA-85845 |
Russia Irkutsk Irkutsk Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov... |
145/145 | Stalled and crashed on final approach due to crew errors |
| 04.10.2001 Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 crashed over the Black Sea on 4 October 2001, en route from Tel Aviv, Israel to Novosibirsk, Russia. The plane, a Soviet-made Tupolev Tu-154, carried an estimated 66 passengers and 12 crew members. No one on board survived... |
Russia RA-85693 |
Black sea Black Sea The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean... |
78/78 | Allegedly shot down by stray Ukrainian missile |
| 12.02.2002 | Iran EP-MBS |
Iran Khorremabad |
119/119 | Crashed on final approach |
| 20.02.2002 | Iran EP-LBX |
Iran Mashhad Mashhad Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its... |
0/n.d. | Rough landing, sent to Vnukovo for repair where a nosegear collapsed |
| 01.07.2002 Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 The 2002 Überlingen mid-air collision occurred at 23:35 UTC on 1 July 2002 between Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 and DHL Flight 611 over the towns of Überlingen and Owingen in southern Germany... |
Russia RA-85816 |
2+69/69 | Mid-air collision with Boeing 757 Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration... due to controller error |
|
| 24.08.2004 | Russia RA-85556 |
Russia Millerovo Millerovo Millerovo is a town and the administrative center of Millerovsky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia. Population: It was founded in 1786 and named after its founder, the army officer Ivan Abramovich Müller... |
46/46 | Exploded in mid-air by suicide bomber |
| 22.08.2006 Pulkovo Airlines Flight 612 Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 612 was an aircraft that crashed near the Russian border over eastern Ukraine on August 22, 2006, while en route from Vityazevo Airport to Pulkovo Airport... |
Russia RA-85185 |
Ukraine near Donetsk Donetsk Donetsk , is a large city in eastern Ukraine on the Kalmius river. Administratively, it is a center of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the economic and cultural Donets Basin region... |
170/170 | Stalled and crashed due to attempt to fly over storm front at critical altitude |
| 01.09.2006 | Iran EP-MCF |
Iran Mashhad Mashhad Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its... |
29/147 | The tyre blew out on landing, the plane skidded off the runway and caught fire |
| 30.06.2008 | Russia RA-85667 |
Russia St Petersburg |
0/112 | Engine fire at take-off, take off was aborted and the plane written off |
| 15.07.2009 Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 was a scheduled commercial flight from Tehran, Iran, to Yerevan, Armenia, that crashed near the village of Jannatabad, outside the city of Qazvin in north-western Iran, on 15 July 2009... |
Iran EP-CPG |
Iran near Qazvin Qazvin Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families.... |
168/168 | Engine fire and explosion, the plane lost control and crashed |
| 24.01.2010 Taban Air Flight 6437 Taban Air Flight 6437 was a scheduled domestic flight that crashed on landing at Mashhad, Iran on 24 January 2010. All 170 people escaped from the burning aircraft without loss of life. Most of the passengers were pilgrims returning from visiting holy sites in Iraq.-Aircraft:The aircraft involved... |
Russia RA-85787 |
Iran Mashhad Mashhad Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its... |
0/170 | Rough landing, the plane broke up and caught fire |
| 10.04.2010 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash The 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash occurred on 10 April 2010, when a Tupolev Tu-154M aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed near the city of Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board... |
 Poland 101 |
Russia Smolensk Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk... |
96/96 | Crashed on final approach in thick fog on an airfield with no ILS. President Lech Kaczyński Lech Kaczynski Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość... and other high ranking officials were onboard and died in the crash. |
| 07.09.2010 Alrosa Mirny Air Enterprise Flight 514 Alrosa Mirny Air Enterprise Flight 514 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Udachny, Russia, to Moscow. On 7 September 2010, the Tupolev Tu-154M RA-85684 aircraft suffered a complete electrical failure en route, leading to a loss of navigational systems... |
Russia RA-85684 |
Russia Izhma Izhma Airport Izhma Airport is an airport in Komi, Russia located 3 km northeast of Izhma. It formerly handled small aircraft but was closed to airliners in 2003 and is now only used for helicopters.-Accidents and incidents:... |
0/81 | Emergency landing at remote airfield after general electrical failure at 34,800 ft, overran the small runway and sustained minor damage with no injuries. In March 2011 it was flown back to Samara for structural inspection. |
| 04.12.2010 | Russia RA-85744 |
Russia Moscow |
2/170 | An emergency landing after two engines failed shortly after take-off; full of fuel. Overran the runway and broke up into three. The accident investigation revealed that a crew member had mistakenly switched off a fuel transfer pump thereby causing fuel-starvation and subsequent engine stall |
| 01.01.2011 Kolavia Flight 348 Kolavia Flight 348 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Surgut International Airport, Surgut, Russia, to Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia. On 1 January 2011, the Kogalymavia Tupolev Tu-154-B2 operating the flight caught fire while taxiing for take-off from Surgut. Three... |
Russia RA-85588 |
Russia Surgut |
3/124 | Fire onboard and subsequent explosion while taxiing for take-off, all three engines running. |
Specifications
| Measurement | Tu-154B-2 | Tu-154M |
|---|---|---|
| Cockpit crew | Three/Four | |
| Seating capacity | 114–180 | |
| Length | 48 metre | |
| Wingspan | 37.55 metre | |
| Wing area | 201.5 square metres (2,168.9 sq ft) | |
| Height | 11.4 metre | |
| Maximum take-off weight | | 98000 kilograms (216,053 lb) – 100000 kilograms (220,462.3 lb) | | 102000 kilograms (224,871.5 lb) – 104000 kilograms (229,280.8 lb) |
| Empty weight | | 50700 kilograms (111,774.4 lb) | | 55300 kilograms (121,915.6 lb) |
| Maximum speed | 950 km/h (510 kn) | |
| Range fully loaded | 2500 kilometres (1,553.4 mi) | 5280 kilometres (3,280.8 mi) |
| Range with max fuel | 3900 kilometres (2,423.4 mi) | 6600 kilometres (4,101.1 mi) |
| Service ceiling | 12100 metres (39,698.2 ft) | |
| Engine (x 3) | | Kuznetsov NK-8-2U Kuznetsov NK-8 The NK-8 was a low-bypass turbofan engine built by the Kuznetsov Design Bureau, in the 20,000 lbf thrust class. It powered production models of the Ilyushin Il-62 and the Tupolev Tu-154A and B models.-External links: - NK-8... |
| Soloviev D-30KU-154 Soloviev D-30 - External links :* * * *... |
| Max. thrust (x 3) | | 90 kN (20,000 lbf) each | | 103 kN (23,148 lbf) each |