Aeroflot Flight 1492: Хронология и детали катастрофы в Шереметьево

Aeroflot Flight 1492 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Aeroflot from Moscow–Sheremetyevo to Murmansk, Russia. On 5 May 2019, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft operating the flight was climbing out when it was struck by lightning.

Основные сведения о происшествии

Техническое описание воздушного судна

The aircraft was a Russian-built Sukhoi Superjet 100, MSN (manufacturer's serial number) 95135, and was registered as RA-89098. The aircraft had accumulated 2,710 flight hours and 1,658 cycles before the accident. Aeroflot Superjets are configured with 87 passenger seats, 12 in business class and 75 in economy class.

Хронология полета и метеоусловия

Flight 1492 took off from runway 24C at Sheremetyevo International Airport, bound for Murmansk Airport, on 5 May 2019 at 18:03 local time (15:03 UTC). Towering cumulonimbus (thunderstorm) clouds were observed in the vicinity of the airport with a base of 6,000 feet (1,800 m) and peaking at about 29,000 feet (8,800 m). At 15:08 UTC, the aircraft was climbing through flight level 89 (around 8,900 feet or 2,700 metres) when it was struck by lightning.

Развитие аварийной ситуации

The primary radio and autopilot became inoperative and the flight control mode changed to DIRECT – a degraded, more challenging mode of operation. The captain assumed manual control of the aircraft. The transponder code was changed to 7600 (to indicate radio failure) at 15:09 UTC and subsequently to 7700 (emergency) at 15:26 UTC while on final approach. The secondary radio (VHF2) remained operative and the crew were able to restore communication with air traffic control (ATC) and made a pan-pan call on the emergency frequency.

Аварийная посадка и ее последствия

The aircraft suffered an electrical failure and returned to Sheremetyevo for an emergency landing. The aircraft stopped its climb at flight level 106 (around 10,600 feet or 3,200 metres) and was guided towards Sheremetyevo by ATC. Upon capturing the glideslope, the aircraft's weight was 43.5 tonnes (43,500 kg; 96,000 lb), 1.6 tonnes (1,600 kg; 3,500 lb) over the maximum landing weight. The flaps were lowered to 25 degrees, which is the recommended setting for an overweight landing in DIRECT mode.

Between 1,100 feet (340 m) and 900 feet (270 m) AGL, the predictive windshear warning sounded repeatedly: "GO-AROUND, WINDSHEAR AHEAD". It bounced on landing and touched down hard, causing the landing gear to collapse, fuel to spill out of the wings, and a fire to erupt. The fire engulfed the rear of the aircraft, killing 41 of the 78 occupants.