Ilyushin II-18 crash, Dec 17, 1961 (59 killed), Chebotovk...
Ilyushin II-18 accident on December 17, 1961 near Chebotovka Rostov oblast, Russia with 59 fatalities. Cause: The flight engineer accidentally selected...
- Date: December 17, 1961
- Aircraft: Ilyushin II-18
- Location: Chebotovka Rostov oblast, Russia
- Fatalities: 59
- Phase of flight: En route
- Cause: The flight engineer accidentally selected full flaps at cruise speed, causing loss of control; the Il 18 had no mechanism to prevent accidental movement of the flap selector.
An Aeroflot Ilyushin Il 18B on a scheduled flight from Moscow Vnukovo to Sochi entered a steep dive while cruising at 8,000 metres and crashed into a snow covered field near Chebotovka. All 59 people on board were killed. Investigators found that the flight engineer had accidentally moved the flap selector to full extension and the type had no safeguard against this.