1957 Romanian Ilyushin Il-14 crash

1957 aviation accident 1957 Romanian Ilyushin Il-14 crash Accident Deutsche Lufthansa Ilyushin Il-14P at Prague Airport.jpg A similar Il-14P 1957 11 04 y Controlled flight into terrain Near Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow, Soviet Union Ilyushin Il-14P People's Republic of Romania YR-PCC Bucharest Otopeni Airport, Bucharest, Romania Kiev Zhuliany Airport, Kiev, Soviet Union Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow, Soviet Union 10 6 4 12 On 4 November 1957, an Ilyushin Il-14 operated by the Romanian government crashed on approach to Vnukovo International Airport. Of the 16 people on board, four were killed, including Grigore Preoteasa, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs. The cause was determined to be pilot error. Aircraft The aircraft involved was an Ilyushin Il-14P with the tail number YR-PCC. It was delivered to the Romanian government in December 1956. Passengers and crew The aircraft was on a government flight carrying members of a Romanian Workers' Party delegation to participate in the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution. The delegation consisted of Chivu Stoica, Nicolae Ceaușescu, Grigore Preoteasa, Ștefan Voitec, Alexandru Moghioroș, and Leonte Răutu.Ţimonea Dorin Neag Nicu 30 June 2015 Misterele accidentului aviatic de lângă Moscova, care ar fi putut schimba soarta României. Au vrut sovieticii să-l omoare pe Nicolae Ceauşescu în 1957? https://adevarul.ro/stiri-locale/alba-iulia/misterele-accidentului-aviatic-de-langa-moscova-1633625.html Adevărul ro 15 May 2026 The Il-14 was operated by a Soviet crew (names given in Romanian):Procesul verbal privind rezultatele cercetărilor cu privire la cauzele avarierii avionului „IL 14” cu membrii delegației Republicii Populare Române. National Archives of Romania. File 50/1957. Pilot-in-command Valerii Nicolaievici Sleacov Co-pilot Vladimir Iacovlevici Saraichin Navigator Ivan Ivanovici Hriucalov Aircraft technician Nicolai Zaharovici Pavlicov Radio operator Anatolii Grigorievici Romanov Flight mechanic Valerii Alexeievici Gurov Accident The aircraft took off from Bucharest at 9:48 (Moscow time) and arrived at its stopover, Kiev, at 12:31, where the aircraft was refueled. At 15:27 the flight departed Kiev for Moscow, with estimated time of arrival at 18:00.Accidentul aviatic de la Moscova: Ceaușescu a scăpat ca prin urechile acului https://historia.ro/sectiune/general/accidentul-aviatic-de-la-moscova-ceausescu-a-2484523.html Historia ro 15 May 2026 At 17:48, the Il-14 entered the Vnukovo area. The crew conducted an instrument approach owing to the adverse weather conditions (fog, low visibility). Clearing the inner marker, the pilot sighted the runway lights. At the same time, the controller noticed that the aircraft was at insufficient altitude and instructed the pilot to maintain altitude. However, this was not acknowledged and the Il-14 continued descending. The aircraft struck trees and crashed in a wooded area short of the runway at 17:58. Preoteasa, who was not wearing a seatbelt,Moartea lui Grigore Preoteasa https://historia.ro/sectiune/portret/moartea-lui-grigore-preoteasa-583397.html Historia ro 15 May 2026 and Hriucalov were killed in the crash. Sleacov and Pavlicov later succumbed to their injuries. The rest of the occupants received injuries of varying degrees. Investigation Alexei Kosygin led the investigation of the crash. The aircraft was in working conditions before and during the flight. The pilot-in-command had conducted a test flight on 2 November, however the Il-14 was flown without a co-pilot or navigator.Zuzeac Dănuţ 5 January 2016 Accidentul aviatic care putea schimba istoria României. Cum s-a prăbuşit Nicolae Ceauşescu cu avionul lângă un aeroport din Moscova https://adevarul.ro/stiri-locale/suceava/accidentul-aviatic-care-putea-schimba-istoria-1678025.html Adevărul ro 15 May 2026 The investigation determined the cause to be pilot error. Upon passing the inner marker, Sleacov had been focused on the runway lights and continued descending against the given commands. Lack of training was cited as a contributing factor. Sleacov had falsified the crew's qualifications. In reality, the crew was unprepared for a landing in such weather conditions. The crew and the aircraft had not been checked before the flight. It has been theorized that the crash was a Soviet plot to assassinate either Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej or Nicolae Ceaușescu. Gheorghiu-Dej was not present on the flight due to health reasons. References External links Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network Accident description at airdisaster.ru (in Russian) Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1957 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union Category:20th-century aviation accidents and incidents in Russia Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Ilyushin Il-14 Category:Romanian Communist Party Category:1957 in Moscow Category:1957 disasters in the Soviet Union Category:Romania–Soviet Union relations