1969 Yukhnov mid-air collision

At 13:25 the An-12 involved in the accident (callsign 08525) took off from Kėdainiai Air Base, and was the last one in a formation of four to take off. The four An-12s took off in 8-10 minute intervals and held altitudes between 3,000 and 3,600 m (9,800 and 11,800 ft).

At 14:07 the Ilyushin Il-14 took off from Bykovo Airport and climbed to the assigned altitude of 2,700 m (8,900 ft).

At 14:40:55 the crew of Il-14 contacted air traffic control and requested permission to climb to 3,300 m (10,800 ft) due to severe turbulence and cumulus clouds. Due to the An-12s at 3,000 m (9,800 ft), the controller instead offered to grant permission for the flight to descend to 2,700 m (8,900 ft), but the pilots of the Il-14 declined the offer because the turbulence may be worse at a lower altitude.

At 14:50:17 the An-12 passed over Yukhnov and was switched to another controller and confirmed that they were at an altitude of 3,000 m (9,800 ft).

At 14:52 the two aircraft collided over Yukhnov. The An-12 was on a bearing of 106-121° with a speed of 500–529 km/h (311–329 mph; 270–286 kn); the Il-14 was on a bearing of 235-245° with a speed of 324–360 km/h (201–224 mph; 175–194 kn)h. The aircraft first struck at the wingtips; then the An-12's nose collided with the right horizontal stabilizer of the Il-14. The An-12 lost the right wing and right wing engines from the impact, causing the aircraft to spin to the ground. The Il-14 lost part of the right wing and the upper part of the fuselage. The An-12 crashed in a field near Vypolzovo village, and the Il-14 crashed near Trinity village. The aircraft fell approximately 3,800 m (12,500 ft) apart from each other. All 120 people aboard both aircraft perished.[3][5]

The investigation into the crash found that the pilots of the Ilyushin Il-14 disobeyed instructions from air traffic control and climbed to the altitude of 3,000 m (9,800 ft) to avoid the clouds and turbulence, where the formation of Antonov An-12s were flying. The collision occurred at an altitude of 2,910–2,960 m (9,550–9,710 ft), the Il-14 should have been flying at an altitude of 2,700 m (8,900 ft). The pilots of the An-12 were also found to be at fault for flying slightly lower than their assigned altitude of 3,000 m (9,800 ft).[1][5]

The memorial for the fallen soldiers.

Vasily Margelov, Commander of the Airborne Forces and General of the Army, decided that a memorial would be constructed in memory of the fallen soldiers. Money was raised for the construction of a monument to the dead soldiers. In total, 250 thousand rubles were collected. A year after the disaster, the memorial was constructed at the site the An-12 crashed. The monument, designed by Yevgeny Vuchetich, depicts a kneeling mother and paratrooper and contains the inscription: Eternal memory to the heroes-paratroopers and pilots. Next to the monument is a platform with 96 marble slabs, each with naming a soldier killed in the accident.[6][7]

At the site of the crashed Ilyushin Il-14 there is a monument to the pilots and passengers.

• 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division