| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 18 March 1997 |
| Type | structure failure |
| Site | Cherkessk, Russia |
| Passengers | 44 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Fatalities | 50 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Antonov An-24 |
| Operator | Stavropolskaya Aktsionernaya Avia |
| Tail number | RA-46516 |
| Flight origin | Stavropol Shpakovskoye Airport, Russia |
| Destination | Trabzon Airport, Turkey |
Stavropolskaya Aktsionernaya Avia Flight 1023 was a charter flight between Stavropol in southern Russia and Trabzon in Turkey operated by the Russian airline Stavropolskaya Aktsionernaya Avia. On 18 March 1997 the Antonov An-24 operating the flight suffered a structural failure and crashed into a forest, killing all 50 passengers and crew on board.
The flight, which was a frequently operated charter between Stavropol and Trabzon on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, took off from Stavropol Shpakovskoye Airport, carrying 8 crewmembers, 41 passengers, mainly traders who planned to purchase cheap consumer goods in Turkey and one of the directors of the airline.[1][2]
37 minutes after take off,[2][3] the flight was at a height of 17,700 ft (5,400 m) when it disappeared from the radar screens of air traffic control.[1][2]
Wreckage of the Antonov An-24 was found scattered over a wide area in a forest near the village of Prigorodny, east of Cherkessk, nothern Caucasus. The aircraft's tail was found at 1.5 kn from the rest of the weckage, indicating that the aircraft may have broken up in mid-air. All 50 people aboard were killed.[1][2]
The accident investigation found that the aircraft, which had recently returned from an extended period of service in the Congo, suffered massive corrosion which had caused the aircraft's tail to break off in flight.[4][3]
The accident was blamed on a failure to detect corrosion during inspection, with the allowable time between inspections and maintenance being exceeded.[3]
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