Aeroflot Flight 366 (russian: Рейс 366 Аэрофлота), also known as the Miracle on the Neva, was a

water landing In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an aircraft landing on a body of water. Seaplanes, such as floatplanes and flying boats, land on water as a normal operation. Ditching is a controlled emergency landing on the water s ...

by a

Tupolev Tu-124 The Tupolev Tu-124 (NATO reporting name: Cookpot) was a 56-passenger short-range twinjet airliner built in the Soviet Union. It was the first Soviet airliner powered by turbofan engines. Design and development Developed from the medium-range ...

of the Soviet state airline '' Aeroflot'' (Moscow division). The aircraft took off from

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

-Ülemiste Airport ( TLL) at 08:55 on with 45 passengers and 7 crew on board. The aircraft (registration number СССР-45021) was built in 1962 and was scheduled to fly to Moscow–Vnukovo ( VKO) under the command of 27-year-old captain Victor Mostovoy. After takeoff the nose gear did not retract. Ground control diverted the flight to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

( LED) – because of fog at Tallinn.

Events

At 10:00 Flight 366 started to circle the city at , in order to use fuel, reducing weight and decreasing the risk of fire in the event of a crash. The ground services at Pulkovo Airport (LED) were preparing the dirt runway for the landing. Each circuit around the city took the aircraft approximately 15 minutes. During this time the crew attempted to force the nose gear to lock into the fully extended position by pushing it with a pole taken from the cloak closet. On the eighth and last circuit while from the airport, the no. 1 engine flamed out due to fuel starvation. The remaining engine ceased shortly thereafter, with the aircraft above the city center, traveling east over

St. Isaac's Cathedral Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor (russian: Исаа́киевский Собо́р) is a large architectural landmark cathedral that currently functions as a museum with occasional church services in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is ...

and the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

. Upon loss of power the flight crew ditched the aircraft in the wide Neva River. Eyewitnesses saw Flight 366 upstream. Immediately after a turn, the aircraft glided over the high steel structures of the Bolsheokhtinsky Bridge with approximately of clearance. The Tu-124 flew over the

Alexander Nevsky Bridge The Alexander Nevsky Bridge (russian: Мост Алекса́ндра Не́вского, ''Most Aleksandra Nevskogo'') in St Petersburg, Russia is named after the legendary Russian military commander and politician Alexander Nevsky. The br ...

– under construction at the time – barely missing it. The pilot managed to land the aircraft on the river, in close proximity to an 1898-built steam

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

. The plane began to fill with water. The captain of the tugboat saw the plane in distress and went to help. He and his crew broke the aircraft's windshield to tie a cable to the cockpit's control wheel and proceeded to tow the craft to the river bank. During the tow all passengers remained on board. Passengers and crew then evacuated the cabin via an access hatch on the plane's roof.

References

External links

"Prepare to Ditch"
in ''Flight International'' magazine, 13 August 1964, p241 *"Soviet Transports" series, also ''Ditch or crash-land?'' B.W. Townshend, 1965 (pp 47–49) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-123 Neva river ditching Aviation accidents and incidents in 1963 Airliner accidents and incidents involving ditching Aviation accidents and incidents in Russia Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union 1963 in the Soviet Union

366 __NOTOC__ Year 366 ( CCCLXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gratianus and Dagalaifus (or, less frequently, year 1119 '' Ab urbe condita''). The denomina ...

Accidents and incidents involving the Tupolev Tu-124 1960s in Leningrad August 1963 events in Europe Airliner accidents and incidents caused by fuel exhaustion 1963 in Russia

Events

See also

References

External links