C-47 crash near Mulden

The crew was from the 1st Air Regiment of the 10th Guards Air Transport Division of the Civil Air Fleet ( Aeroflot ) and had the following composition ^[1] :

• Ship Commander - Guard Junior Lieutenant Maso Yakov Isaakovich
• Co - pilot - Captain Vetchinkin Ivan Makarovich
• Navigator - Guard Junior Lieutenant Demus Nikolai Petrovich
• Bortmekhanik - Guard Junior Lieutenant Plodukhin Nikolai Alexandrovich
• Bortradist - Guard Sergeant Traulkin Ivan Vasilievich

The crew on the Douglas C-47 with the tail number USSR-L915 (serial number 13350) performed a flight from Leningrad to Wormditt , during which the personnel of the 227th assault air division were delivered. In Wormditt, a representative of this air division invited the crew for lunch. During lunch, among other things, crew members also drank alcohol - vodka and alcohol, although they still had a return flight to the base airfield in Insterburg . Then the crew arrived at the airfield, where, according to witnesses, the drunken commander of the ship Maso began to show off his skills to attack pilots. Finally, at 17:25, the Douglas took off, after which, at an altitude of 70 meters, it made a full circle above the airfield, then dropped to an altitude of 20-30 meters and, increasing the engine mode to maximum, made a combat turn with an exit of about 180 ° with a decrease , and only after that went to Insterburg ^[1] .

In Insterburg, heavy snow was falling at this time, while visibility dropped to 100-150 meters. Then the regiment commander handed the radiogram aboard the L915: " Come back Wormditt, there is a storm in Insterburg ." However, the ship's commander did not return. The second message on board was “ Return Wormditt, I forbid you to fly to Insterburg ”, but it did not change the crew’s intentions to follow to Insterburg. The third radiogram read: "I categorically forbid you to go to Insterburg, go to Wormditt ." Only then did they report from the L915 on their return to Wormditt. But during the flight to Wormditt, flying at a rate of 320 ° C-47, it flew into heavy snow, after which, following at a low altitude, it suddenly appeared above the forest. The right plane crashed into the tops of two fir trees and separated. Flying from the site of the first strike 740 meters, the airliner 3 kilometers north of Mulden at an angle of 45 ° fell on stacks of firewood located in a clearing located in the meadow, collapsed and caught fire. After 3 days, on March 7, a crashed plane was discovered from the air. All 5 people on board died ^[1] .

The cause of the disaster was called the lack of discipline of the crew, which followed at dangerously low altitude in heavy snow, and even in a state of intoxication, while failing to fulfill two orders to return to the departure aerodrome. During the investigation, the insufficient organization of flight work at the operational point was revealed, educational work among the personnel was poorly conducted, and the commanders were not demanding enough on subordinates regarding unquestioning execution of instructions and instructions on the flight service. It was also found that the commander of the Maso ship had cases of alcohol consumption before the flight ^[1] .