ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev Tu-154B-2 RA-85556 Gluboki
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Status:5
Date:Tuesday 24 August 2004
Time:22:53
Type:Silhouette image of generic T154 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Tupolev Tu-154B-2
Operator:Sibir Airlines
Registration: RA-85556
MSN: 82A556
First flight: 1982
Total airframe hrs:30751
Engines: 3 Kuznetsov NK-8-2U
Crew:Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 8
Passengers:Fatalities: 38 / Occupants: 38
Total:Fatalities: 46 / Occupants: 46
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:8 km (5 mls) from Gluboki (   Russia)
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Moskva-Domodedovo Airport (DME/UUDD), Russia
Destination airport:Adler/Sochi Airport (AER/URSS), Russia
Flightnumber:1047
Narrative:
Sibir Airlines Flight 1047, a Tupolev Tu-154, departed Moscow about 22:40 on a domestic passenger flight to Sochi, Russia. At an altitude of 12100 m an explosion occurred inside cabin on the right hand side on seat row 25. An explosive decompression followed and the aircraft entered a descent. It subsequently broke up and crashed, killing all 46 on board.

The aircraft crashed almost simultaneously with a Volga-Aviaexpress Tupolev Tu-134 which had also departed Moscow's Domodedovo Airport earlier that night. Investigations revealed traces of Hexogen, a highly sophisticated explosive also known as RDX in the wreckage. It appeared that the explosives had been carried aboard by a female passenger. Two female suicide bombers arrived at Moscow at 19:45 on the same day on a flight from Makhachkala in the company of another two Chechens. They were taken aside on arrival and were handed to a police captain in charge of antiterrorist precautions, but they were released without apparently having been searched. Both women then bought tickets on the Sibir flight to Sochi and the Volga-Aviaexpress to Volgograd from a black-market peddler. After bribing a Sibir Airlines employee in charge of check-in and boarding one of the women was able to bypass security and get on board the Tupolev Tu-154.

Probable Cause:

The cause of the crashes of Tu-154 RA 85556 and Tu-134 RA 65080 aircrafts on August 24, 2004 was the destruction of aircraft construction in flight as a result of the impact of explosive charges.

Classification:
Explosive decompression
Sabotage
Loss of control

Sources:
» gazeta.ru
» ITAR-TASS
» Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation


Photos

photo of Tupolev-Tu-154B-2-RA-85556
accident date: 24-08-2004
type: Tupolev Tu-154B-2
registration: RA-85556
 

Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Moskva-Domodedovo Airport to Adler/Sochi Airport as the crow flies is 1328 km (830 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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Tupolev Tu-154

  • 1026 built
  • 62nd loss
  • 33rd fatal accident
  • 22nd worst accident (at the time)
  • 26th worst accident (currently)
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 Russia
  • 46th worst accident (at the time)
  • 55th worst accident (currently)
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