On 5 March 2011, an

Antonov An-148 The Antonov An-148 ( ua, Антонов Ан-148) is a regional jet designed and built by Antonov of Ukraine. Development of the aircraft was started in the 1990s, and its maiden flight took place on 17 December 2004. The aircraft completed its ...

passenger jet broke up in mid-air and crashed on the outskirts of Garbuzovo, a village in the

Belgorod Oblast Belgorod Oblast (russian: Белгоро́дская о́бласть, ''Belgorodskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Belgorod. Population: History At the turn of the 17th ...

of Russia. All six crew members, the only people on board, were killed. The aircraft was on a demonstration flight prior to delivery to the

Myanmar Air Force The Myanmar Air Force ( my, တပ်မတော် (လေ), ), known until 1989 as the Burmese Air Force, is the aerial branch of Myanmar's armed forces, the Tatmadaw. The primary mission of the Myanmar Air Force (MAF) since its inception h ...

. The subsequent investigation concluded that the aircraft broke up after the crew allowed it to substantially exceed its maximum design speed during a practice emergency descent.

Accident

The An-148 was on a local demonstration flight from

Pridacha Airport Pridacha Airport () (also given as Repnoe, or Voronezh East) is an airport in Russia located 5 km east of Voronezh. It is home to the Voronezh Aircraft Plant (VASO). The Tupolev Tu-144, Ilyushin Il-86, and Ilyushin Il-96 The Ilyushi ...

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...

, Russia, where it had been built by aircraft manufacturer

VASO Vaso is a village located in Kheda district of Gujarat, India. The zip code is 387380. Places of interest Vithalbhai Haveli is a of late 18th century ''haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Ind ...

. The aircraft was being readied for delivery to the

, two representatives of which were on board. The other four crew, all Russians, were two pilots and two engineers. At 10:40 Moscow time, the aircraft crashed at Garbuzovo, a small village in the Alexeevsky Region of the

, some south of Moscow, narrowly missing some houses. The wreckage was found strewn along a track, after witnesses on the ground reported seeing parts of the airframe breaking off before impact. None of the six people on board survived.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a twinjet Antonov An-148-100E, c/n 41-03, carrying test registration 61708. It was operating its 32nd flight, in preparation for delivery to the Myanmar air force. Just days before the accident, the type had been granted extended certification.

Investigation

The Russian Ministry of Industry opened an investigation into the accident. A criminal investigation was launched by the

Investigative Committee of Russia The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Следственный комитет Российской Федерации) has since January 2011 been the main federal investigating authority in Russia. Its name (' ...

to decide whether violation of flight regulations occurred. The

flight recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has ...

s were recovered, and the whole wreckage was transported to the VASO plant for examination. The investigation was completed in April 2011, and concluded that the crew inadvertently permitted the aircraft to accelerate over above its maximum design speed, or never exceed speed (V_NE), during an emergency descent. The abnormal aerodynamic stress exceeded the strength of the

airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aero ...

, inducing low-frequency oscillations that eventually resulted in structural failure and in-flight break-up. Contributing factors were lack of proper crew coordination in executing the emergency descent, deviations from recommended procedures and the misleading indications provided by basic flight instruments while outside normal operating conditions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garbuzovo Antonov An-148 crash, 2011 Aviation accidents and incidents in 2011 Aviation accidents and incidents in Russia 2011 disasters in Russia Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight structural failure Accidents and incidents involving the Antonov An-148 March 2011 events in Russia