Romanov Vladimir Fedorovich
Flight mechanic IL 14, 02/17/1986 the plane crashed during an emergency landing
***
The summer season of the 31st Soviet Antarctic expedition was coming to an end. Polar explorers were in for a long winter. The expedition’s aviation group was working to the point of exhaustion, delivering cargo to distant bases.
People at Vostok were in a dire situation. Due to various reasons, for over a month only one Il-14 would visit the station. Vostok’s residents were on edge, and its operation was going to fail because specialists at the Pole of Cold would be left without necessary products and medicine. The polar aviation group’s commander made the decision to transfer another plane to Mirny as soon as possible, so that it could subsequently fly to the Vostok station.
On February 16, 1986, the Il-14 was following the route from Molodyozhnaya to Mirny. There were 5 crew members and one supporting passenger on board.
The craft’s captain Victor Petrov was an experienced flyer. He came to the air squadron from the air forces and had decent flight hours. In Antarctica, he completed two seasons’ work as second pilot for the Il-14, and by the third season became captain. Victor’s colleagues acknowledged that he was thoughtful and cautious in a good way; he would never look for trouble, but he would not relent in the face of adversity either.
Due to weather conditions, the departure was delayed twice. At last, as the evening was closing in, the weather got better and the plane took off. The crew had to cover over 2000 km. It was estimated that the flight to Mirny would take 8 hours.
There is a term in aviation, ‘point of no return’. You can calculate it based on the fuel reserve on board. It is where the captain can decide to head for the emergency airfield, due to weather or technical conditions. When the Il-14 was flying over the point of no return, the weather en route and at the landing aerodrome was in favour of the plane continuing its journey. However, the weather in Antarctica is changeable.
During the second half of the trip, the Il-14 encountered a storm-force head wind and lost speed. Moreover, visibility dropped virtually down to zero and there was severe icing. There was not enough fuel to get to the destination point now.
Victor Petrov made the decision to touch down. He gave the control to second pilot Alexander Kladov, meanwhile trying to find the place for landing, looking through the left window. Victor was busy correcting the height, the angle, the tilt, and so on.
The last thing the crew reported was that there was enough fuel for thirty more minutes; that they could not determine their location; and that they were looking for an emergency landing spot.
The connection with the plane was lost 10 hours after it had taken off at Molodyozhnaya.
The search operation began immediately. There was still hope that the crew had been able to land, but could not get in touch for technical reasons.
The team was able to locate the aircraft wreckage in a few days, while flying over it. The plane was scattered within one and a half kilometres. The hope to find any survivors was lost.
In a week, a helicopter found a way to land at the site of the crash. Rescuers examined what was left of the craft. They found the dead flight radio officer and his log. They picked up the remains piece by piece.
Antarctica wrote the script for that tragedy. It took the specialists unawares in a routine everyday flight. Within a few hours, it created weather conditions that the crew were unable to overcome. Antarctica deceived the meteorologists, having stealthily unleashed a cyclone that was impossible to predict. Later, polar explorers could see that cyclone on shots from space. It hit surprisingly quickly and directed the most powerful head wind into the plane’s way. Cloudy sky and icing followed the cyclone. When the crew saw the trap they were in, they were faced with the weighty question of life and death. And the people fought to the end.
Flight mechanic IL 14, 02/17/1986 the plane crashed during an emergency landing
***
The summer season of the 31st Soviet Antarctic expedition was coming to an end. Polar explorers were in for a long winter. The expedition’s aviation group was working to the point of exhaustion, delivering cargo to distant bases.
People at Vostok were in a dire situation. Due to various reasons, for over a month only one Il-14 would visit the station. Vostok’s residents were on edge, and its operation was going to fail because specialists at the Pole of Cold would be left without necessary products and medicine. The polar aviation group’s commander made the decision to transfer another plane to Mirny as soon as possible, so that it could subsequently fly to the Vostok station.
On February 16, 1986, the Il-14 was following the route from Molodyozhnaya to Mirny. There were 5 crew members and one supporting passenger on board.
The craft’s captain Victor Petrov was an experienced flyer. He came to the air squadron from the air forces and had decent flight hours. In Antarctica, he completed two seasons’ work as second pilot for the Il-14, and by the third season became captain. Victor’s colleagues acknowledged that he was thoughtful and cautious in a good way; he would never look for trouble, but he would not relent in the face of adversity either.
Due to weather conditions, the departure was delayed twice. At last, as the evening was closing in, the weather got better and the plane took off. The crew had to cover over 2000 km. It was estimated that the flight to Mirny would take 8 hours.
There is a term in aviation, ‘point of no return’. You can calculate it based on the fuel reserve on board. It is where the captain can decide to head for the emergency airfield, due to weather or technical conditions. When the Il-14 was flying over the point of no return, the weather en route and at the landing aerodrome was in favour of the plane continuing its journey. However, the weather in Antarctica is changeable.
During the second half of the trip, the Il-14 encountered a storm-force head wind and lost speed. Moreover, visibility dropped virtually down to zero and there was severe icing. There was not enough fuel to get to the destination point now.
Victor Petrov made the decision to touch down. He gave the control to second pilot Alexander Kladov, meanwhile trying to find the place for landing, looking through the left window. Victor was busy correcting the height, the angle, the tilt, and so on.
The last thing the crew reported was that there was enough fuel for thirty more minutes; that they could not determine their location; and that they were looking for an emergency landing spot.
The connection with the plane was lost 10 hours after it had taken off at Molodyozhnaya.
The search operation began immediately. There was still hope that the crew had been able to land, but could not get in touch for technical reasons.
The team was able to locate the aircraft wreckage in a few days, while flying over it. The plane was scattered within one and a half kilometres. The hope to find any survivors was lost.
In a week, a helicopter found a way to land at the site of the crash. Rescuers examined what was left of the craft. They found the dead flight radio officer and his log. They picked up the remains piece by piece.
Antarctica wrote the script for that tragedy. It took the specialists unawares in a routine everyday flight. Within a few hours, it created weather conditions that the crew were unable to overcome. Antarctica deceived the meteorologists, having stealthily unleashed a cyclone that was impossible to predict. Later, polar explorers could see that cyclone on shots from space. It hit surprisingly quickly and directed the most powerful head wind into the plane’s way. Cloudy sky and icing followed the cyclone. When the crew saw the trap they were in, they were faced with the weighty question of life and death. And the people fought to the end.
