Aeroflot Flight 8556

Aeroflot Flight 8556 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Sukhumi to Leningrad. It crashed 13 meters short of the runway on approach killing 13 passengers.

Accident

At 12:45 Moscow time the aircraft began its descent from. During the descent the weather deteriorated and heavy rain and a cumulonimbus cloud were present, which was not transmitted to the crew. At 13:05 the plane was at around when the descent rate was increased to 7.5 m/s and the aircraft slipped below the glideslope. At this time the controllers were replaced in a violation of procedure. The crew noticed they were below the glideslope so they increased engine-power and initiated a climb. The approach continued however and the rate of descent again reached 7 m/s. At an altitude of the crew realized the danger and tried to stop the descent, but the aircraft struck the ground 13 meters short of the runway. The landing gear collapsed and the fuselage broke into three pieces.

Causes

The approach was destabilized due to a number of factors. The actions of the crew were inconsistent and uncoordinated. There was no assistance from the approach controller in the final stages of the flight. The accident could have been avoided had the pilots initiated a go-around once they realized the approach was unstable.