Narrative:
Two minutes after takeoff from Alma-Ata, at a height of 120-150 m, the plane entered a zone of high air temperature (30-40 deg C) where the airspeed dropped because of the wind. Then the plane was caught in a downdraft and stalled. It descended nose down until it struck a farm and crashed on a wheat field near the suburbs of Alma-Ata. The Tu-154 disintegrated and caught fire, slid through a field and fell into a ravine.
The airplane operated on a flight to Rostov Airport (ROV) and Simferopol Airport (SIP).
Loss of control
» Soviet Transports
| Status: | |
| Date: | Tuesday 8 July 1980 |
| Time: | 00:39 |
| Type: |  Tupolev Tu-154B-2 |
| Operator: | Aeroflot, Kazakstan Civil Aviation Directorate |
| Registration: | CCCP-85355 |
| MSN: | 79A355 |
| First flight: | 1979 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2438 |
| Cycles: | 1124 |
| Engines: | 3 Kuznetsov NK-8-2U |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 156 / Occupants: 156 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 166 / Occupants: 166 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | 5 km (3.1 mls) from Alma-Ata Airport (ALA) ( Kazakhstan)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Alma-Ata Airport (ALA/UAAA), Kazakhstan |
| Rostov Airport (ROV/URRR), Russia | |
| Flightnumber: | 4225 |
Two minutes after takeoff from Alma-Ata, at a height of 120-150 m, the plane entered a zone of high air temperature (30-40 deg C) where the airspeed dropped because of the wind. Then the plane was caught in a downdraft and stalled. It descended nose down until it struck a farm and crashed on a wheat field near the suburbs of Alma-Ata. The Tu-154 disintegrated and caught fire, slid through a field and fell into a ravine.
The airplane operated on a flight to Rostov Airport (ROV) and Simferopol Airport (SIP).
Classification:
Windshear/downdraftLoss of control
Sources:
» airdisaster.ru» Soviet Transports
Photos
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 Alma-Ata Airport to Rostov Airport as the crow flies is 2895 km (1809 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.
Distance from Alma-Ata Airport to Rostov Airport as the crow flies is 2895 km (1809 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.
languages: 
Kazakhstan
Share
Tupolev Tu-154
- 1026 built
- 13th loss
- 8th fatal accident
- The worst accident (at the time)
- 5th worst accident (currently)
Kazakhstan- The worst accident
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
