RUSSIA– On March 23, 1994, the Airbus A310-304 operated by Aeroflot (SU), which was flying this route, tragically crashed into the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain range in Kemerovo Oblast, resulting in the loss of all 63 passengers and 12 crew members aboard.
Analysis of cockpit voice and flight data recorders unveiled an unexpected presence in the cockpit: the relief captain’s 13-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son. While seated at the controls, the pilot’s son inadvertently manipulated the A310’s autopilot, causing partial disengagement of the aircraft’s aileron control.
Despite efforts to stabilize the aircraft, the first officer’s over-correction during the ascent led to a stall and subsequent spin. Although the pilots managed to regain control temporarily, the aircraft had descended to an unsafe altitude for recovery, resulting in its collision with the mountain range upon impact. All 75 individuals on board lost their lives in the tragedy.
What Actually Happened?
In the early hours of March 23, 1994, Aeroflot Flight 593 embarked on its journey from Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) in Moscow to Kai Tak Airport (HKG) in Hong Kong, carrying a total of 75 individuals, including 63 passengers. Among them were Relief Pilot Kudrinsky and his two children, who were accompanying him on their inaugural international flight.
During his duty, Kudrinsky allowed his children, Eldar (15 years old) and Yana (13 years old), to occupy seats in the cockpit, along with another pilot, Vladimir Makarov, who was traveling as a passenger.
Against regulations, Kudrinsky permitted his children to manipulate the controls while the autopilot was engaged. Yana assumed the pilot’s left front seat at 12:43 AM, with Kudrinsky adjusting the autopilot to simulate turning for her, although she had no actual control over the aircraft. At 12:51 AM, Eldar took over the pilot’s seat, applying enough force to contradict the autopilot for a duration of 30 seconds.
Approximately four minutes after Eldar assumed control, his actions led the flight computer to switch the plane’s ailerons to manual control while the other flight systems remained under autopilot control. Eldar thus gained partial control over the aircraft, signaled by a silent indicator light. However, the pilots failed to notice this indication, accustomed to audible warning signals from Soviet-designed planes.
Eldar first noticed an issue when he observed the aircraft banking right. Subsequently, the flight path indicator displayed a 180° turn due to continuous turning, confusing the pilots for nine seconds as the plane banked steeply beyond design limits, causing a rapid descent.
The increased g-forces impeded the pilots’ attempts to regain control. As the autopilot struggled to compensate, the aircraft stalled, prompting its complete disengagement and descent into a nosedive.
Last Attempt to Regain Control Failed
Kudrinsky regained his seat as an automatic system attempted to recover from the stall by lowering the nose. Despite efforts by Piskaryov to pull out of the dive, he over-corrected, leading to an almost vertical ascent and subsequent spin. Although Kudrinsky almost stabilized the plane during the spin, aggressive maneuvering and a rudder input resulted in a second spin, this time into a flat spin.
Although they managed to level the wings momentarily, they could not gauge their altitude accurately, and the aircraft was too low to recover. The crash occurred at 12:58 AM in a flat attitude at a high vertical speed, resulting in losing all 75 occupants on impact.
The aircraft crashed with its landing gear retracted, and all passengers were securely strapped into their seats, prepared for an emergency. Despite the pilots’ efforts, subsequent analysis suggested that releasing control after the initial spin might have prevented the crash, as aerodynamic principles could have restored level flight. No technical failure was identified in the aircraft.
The wreckage was discovered on a remote hillside in the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain range, approximately 20 kilometers east of Mezhdurechensk, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia.
The flight data recorders were recovered on the second day of search operations. Families of the victims paid tribute to their loved ones at the crash site, marking the tragedy with poignant gestures of remembrance.
Comments
Initially, Aeroflot denied the presence of children in the cockpit; however, they acknowledged this fact after the Moscow-based magazine Obozrevatel published the transcript on September 28, 1994.
According to the Associated Press, the transcript revealed that “the Russian crew almost succeeded in saving the plane.
The New York Times reported that the transcript printed in Obozrevatel indicated that the Russian crew came close to rescuing the Airbus plane and its 75 occupants but was hindered by the presence of children and their lack of familiarity with the foreign-made aircraft. Additionally, The Times mentioned an analysis by an aviation expert published in Rossiiskiye Vesti that supported this assessment.
The events of Flight 593 were portrayed in the season-three (2005) episode titled “Kid in the Cockpit” of the Canadian TV series Mayday (known as Air Emergency and Air Disasters in the U.S. and Air Crash Investigation in the UK and other regions).
This flight was also featured in a Mayday season six (2007) Science of Disaster special named “Who’s Flying the Plane?” Moreover, Michael Crichton’s novel Airframe, published in 1996, draws inspiration from the incidents involving Aeroflot 593 and China Eastern Airlines Flight 583.
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