Synopsis
On the 23rd March 1994, an Airliner Airbus A310-304 crashes into a hillside of the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain range, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, killing all 63 passengers as well as 12 crew members on board. This Aeroflot Flight 593 was a scheduled flight from Sheremetyervo International Airport, Moscow to Hong Kong Kai Tak International Airport. The relief Captain Yaroslav Kudrinsky, throughout the flight allowed his son (Eldar Kudrinsky) and daughter (Yana Kudrinsky) to enter the flight deck and sit at the controls while in autopilot as they headed to Hong Kong. During in which they were at the controls, Kudrinsky adjusted the autopilot’s heading to give his children the perception that they were actually turning the plane. While Kudrinsky’s son was at the controls he applied enough pressure to the control column to disable the autopilot. This caused the aircraft to bank at an angle that was more than 45 degrees, which resulted in the aircraft to dive nose down. During the dive, although the first officer managed to regain some control once it was out of the dive it eventually lead to the stalling of the aircraft and plummeted to the ground before the control was fully recovered by the captain. (Wikipedia, 2012)
Accident Video - Animation with CVR/FDR information
(Video embedded from YouTube on 10 October 2012)
Remake of the Accident
(Video embedded from YouTube on 10 October 2012)
Investigation / Findings
2 Hours after the crash the search was begun to locate the crash of Flight 593. It was soon clear there were no survivors of the crash putting the total of fatalities to 75 people. Initial speculation was that it was a form of terrorist act, but was soon ruled out after the analysis of the cockpit voice recorder. The Russian government authorities conducted the investigation and determined that the main cause of the crash was due to pilot error.
-The poor decision made by the Captain to allow his children to be at the controls and manipulate the aircraft even though the aircraft was on autopilot was a key factor that leads to the crash.
-The lack of authority shown when the aircraft was beginning to lose its direction was another element that should have been addressed.
-Complacency with the condition of the flight as well as not following protocols in the situation experienced further doomed the flight.
-The crew’s unfamiliarity with the foreign built Airbus A310, the crew of Flight 593 was not aware of an aspect to the aircraft, that when force was enforced on the controls that the auto pilot will partially disengage, without a warning sound.
References
1. Wikipedia (2012). Aeroflot Flight 593. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_593 on 28 September 2012.
2. Aviation Safety Network (n.d). ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A310-304 F-OGQS Mezhduretshensk. Retrieved from http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19940323-0&lang=en on 28 September 2012.
3. The Seattle Times (n.d). Tape Reveals Kids Got Flying Lesson Before Crash. Retrieved from http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940928&slug=1933132 on 28 September 2012.
Want to know more?
- Wikipedia - Aeroflot Flight 593
- This page in Wikipedia offers more detailed information about the occurrence.
