Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash
Wreckage of the tail section in the Volga | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 7 September 2011 |
| Summary | Stalled and crashed during take-off caused by improper takeoff configuration leading to runway overrun |
| Site |
|
| Aircraft | |
| RA-42434, the aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in May 2011 with a previous livery | |
| Aircraft type | Yakovlev Yak-42D |
| Operator | YAK-Service |
| ICAO flight No. | AKY9633 |
| Call sign | 434 |
| Registration | RA-42434 |
| Flight origin | Tunoshna Airport, Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia |
| Destination | Minsk National Airport, Minsk, Minsk Oblast, Belarus |
| Occupants | 45 |
| Passengers | 37 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 44 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Survivors | 1 |
On 7 September 2011, YAK-Service Flight 9633, a Yakovlev Yak-42 carrying players and coaching staff of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team, crashed during take-off near Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia. All but one of the 45 people on board were killed. The aircraft overran the runway at Tunoshna Airport before briefly lifting off, striking an antenna mast, catching fire, and crashing on the bank of the Volga river. The tragedy is commonly known as the Lokomotiv hockey team disaster.
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, a member of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), was on its way to Minsk, Belarus, to start the 2011–12 season. All players from the main roster (with the exception of Maxim Zyuzyakin) and four from the youth team were on board and died in the accident. The only survivor was the aircraft's mechanic; one player also survived the crash, but died in the following days from injuries.
The subsequent investigation determined that several factors contributed to the accident, including poor training; the incorrect calculation of the take-off speed by the flight crew; and the inadvertent application of wheel braking by one of the pilots, who had improperly placed his feet on the pedals. It was later revealed that the pilot had used falsified documents to obtain permission to fly the aircraft, and that both crew members lacked the training necessary to fly the Yak-42.