🚨 Deadly Ditching: Angara Airlines Flight 9007

11 years ago this week, an Antonov An-24 aircraft, registered as RA-47302 and operated by Angara Airlines, made an emergency landing in the Ob River in Russia. The plane was performing a domestic passenger service from Tomsk Bogashevo Airport (TOF) to Surgut International Airport (SGC) in Russia. Let’s take a closer look at why the airplane came crashing down into the Ob River.

The flight

On July 11th, 2011, Angara Airlines flight number 9007 took off from Bogashevo Airport (TOF) located in Russia’s Tomsk region just 19 km (11.8 miles) east of Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan. The Antonovaircraft rotated out of TOF at 10:10 AM local time and commenced its two-hour 15-minute journey towards Surgut International Airport located in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug region approximately 544 miles north-west of TOF. There were a total of 37 people onboard, including 33 passengers and four crew members.

A little over 90 minutes into the journey, flight 9007 was cruising at an altitude of 6,000 meters (19,700 ft.) when the flight engineer reported that the indicator light for the presence of metallic shavings in the engine oil had come on for engine number one. Noting the anomaly, the pilot-in-command instructed the engineer to closely monitor all parameters of engine one (left or portside engine), and continued the flight.

Around eight minutes later, strong burning odors were found in the cockpit which prompted the flight crew to reduce power on the affected engine and shut the bleed air valve. At the same time, the co-pilot asked the controller for a diversion to the nearby airfield of Nizhnevartovsk. The controller approved the request at 11:45 and directed flight 9007 to descend to 4,800 meters (15,700 ft.).

As the crew began descending, the oil pressure for engine one also began dropping at an alarming rate. The flight engineer gave verbal alerts to the pilot-in-command, but the pilot decided against shutting off the engine. At 11:52, the aircraft was experiencing severe vibrations while descending through 3,600 meters (11,800 ft.). The crew looked out the side cockpit window and noticed the left engine engulfed in flames. Finally, the engine was shut off, but it was too little too late from the pilots of flight 9007.

The aircraft was nearly 80 km (50 miles) away from the alternate airport and the crew had no choice but to make an emergency landing. They chose to ditch the 36-year-old Antonov An-24 into the Ob River, where it was severely damaged after hitting the shallow riverbed.

Final report

The Russian Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) began investigating the incident and released a detailed report of its findings in December 2013. Seven of the 37 people onboard lost their lives, while another 19 were injured.

In its report, MAK noted that the engine malfunction may have been developed due to depressurization of the venting system caused by ‘destruction of the centrifugal breather.’ MAK notes the unwillingness of the pilot-in-command to shut off the malfunctioning engine, late detection of the fire by the crew, and a failure to take timely measures to extinguish the fire were the main contributing factors leading to the crash of Angara Airlines flight 9007.