View source for Aeroflot Flight 315 (1959)

{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| name = Aeroflot Flight 315
| date = {{start date|1959|11|16|df=y}}
| summary = Icing, [[Loss of control (aeronautics)|loss of control]]
| occurrence_type = Accident
| image = СССР-11185 Ан-10.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| alt =
| caption = An Antonov An-10 similar to the accident aircraft
| site = Near Lviv Airport
| coordinates =
| origin = [[Vnukovo International Airport|Vnukovo Airport]]
| destination = [[Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport|Lviv Airport]]
| passengers = 32
| crew = 8
| fatalities = 40
| survivors = 0
| aircraft_type = [[Antonov An-10]]
| operator = [[Aeroflot]]
| tail_number = CCCP-11167
}}
'''Aeroflot Flight 315''' was a regularly scheduled [[Passenger airline|passenger flight]] operated by [[Aeroflot]] from [[Vnukovo International Airport]] in [[Moscow]] to [[Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport|Lviv Airport]] in [[Lviv, Ukraine]]. On 16 November 1959, the [[Antonov An-10]] operating this flight crashed short of the airport runway while on final approach. All 32 passengers and eight crew members were killed.
The Air Accident Investigation Commission concluded the cause of the accident was a combination of design flaw and icing.
==Accident==
Flight 315 departed Vnukovo Airport at 16:48 Moscow time, and was cleared to climb to 7,000 meters. As the airliner approached Lviv, the weather was reported as temperature -1 degree C, humidity 97% with visibility at three km and the possibility of [[icing conditions]]. The descent was normal and the pilot reported reaching the [[Marker beacon#outer marker|outer marker]] at an altitude of 200 meters. Before reaching the inner marker, the aircraft descended out of the clouds and the crew switched to [[visual flight rules]] (VFR). At 19:06 while descending through 110 meters, the [[Flap (aeronautics)|flaps]] were set to 45 degrees and the Antonov began a rapid [[Aircraft principal axes|pitch down]]. 2,100 meters from the runway and in a 25 degree nose down attitude, the aircraft crashed, flipped over and burst into flames. The impact and post-crash fire killed all on board.<ref name="asn">{{cite web |title=Monday 16 November 1959 |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19591116-0 |website=aviation-safety.net |publisher=Aviation Safety Network |access-date=27 July 2019}}</ref>
==Aircraft==
Construction of the An-10 involved, serial number 9401402, was completed at the Voronezh aircraft factory on 5 June 1959 and it was transferred to the civil air fleet. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had sustained a total of 277 flight hours.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scramble.nl/database/soviet/details/22_16523|title=An-10 c/n 9401402|website=Scramble Soviet Transport Database}}</ref>
==Investigation==
After examination of available evidence, the Air Accident Investigation Commission concluded that an anomaly in the engine power control system combined with substandard placement of other cockpit controls may have been a factor in the crash. They went on to speculate that the [[pilot in command]] (PIC) may have reduced power because [[pitot tube]] icing caused the [[airspeed indicator]] to read higher than actual airspeed.
On 26 February 1960 approximately three months after this accident, another An-10 [[Aeroflot Flight 315 (1960)|crashed]] during similar conditions. Testing eventually revealed that icing of the [[Tailplane|horizontal stabilizer]] created a supercritical [[angle of attack]], that caused a sudden pitch down of the aircraft when the flaps are lowered to the maximum setting of 45 degrees. To combat this concern [[ice protection systems]] for the stabilizer were improved and selection of flaps beyond 15 degrees in known icing conditions was disallowed.<ref name=asn/>
==See also==
*[[Aeroflot accidents and incidents]]
*[[Aeroflot accidents and incidents in the 1950s]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Aeroflot}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1959}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Ukraine}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union}}
{{Portal bar|Soviet Union|Ukraine|Aviation|1950s}}
[[Category:November 1959 events in Europe]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1959]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Aeroflot accidents and incidents|315 (1959)]]
[[Category:1959 in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Antonov An-10]]
[[Category:1959 in Ukraine]]
[[Category:History of Lviv]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Ukraine]]
[[Category:1959 disasters in the Soviet Union]]