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On Oct. 20, 1986, the captain of a Soviet Aeroflot passenger jet closed the curtain in front of the windshield and attempted to land the plane using instruments alone. The resulting crash killed 70 people and left families wondering what had happened.
Learning to fly blind is an essential part of the aviation instruction process. In some situations, landing without visual cues is a necessity, so pilots need to learn to rely solely on their instruments to perform a successful landing.
However, Aeroflot Flight 6502 was different. There was seemingly no need for the pilot, Captain Alexander Kliuyev, to close his curtains. And while instrument-only approaches are occasionally orchestrated during training exercises, this was an active passenger flight. So, what happened?
Subsequent investigations revealed the chilling reason for the disaster.
The Crash Of Aeroflot Flight 6502
Aeroflot Flight 6502 was a scheduled domestic trip from Sverdlovsk (now called Yekaterinburg) to Grozny, with one stop at Kuibyshev Airport in southwestern Russia. The aircraft was a Soviet Tupolev Tu-134A that was seemingly in full working order. At the time of takeoff on Oct. 20, 1986, the plane had 87 passengers and seven crew members onboard.
The flight from Sverdlovsk to Kuibyshev proceeded as usual, with Captain Alexander Kliuyev flying the aircraft and Gennady Zhirnov serving as first officer. When the plane approached the airport, however, things took a turn.
The Tu-134 had curtains that could cover the windows of the cockpit. At approximately 3:48 p.m., just two minutes from touchdown, Kliuyev instructed the flight engineer to close the curtains, rendering him effectively blind and reliant solely on instruments. Multiple crew members witnessed this event, though no one appeared to intervene to stop it from occurring.
Although the pilot was trained to land the craft without visual cues, his choice to attempt an instrument-only approach would end in disaster. As Kliuyev reached the runway, he misjudged both the aircraft’s altitude and its rate of descent. This meant that the plane was traveling too quickly when it hit the ground.
The impact put substantial strain on the jet’s landing gear, which subsequently collapsed. The airplane then overshot the runway, overturned, and burst into flames.
Of the 94 people onboard, only 24 survived the crash — including Kliuyev himself. While First Officer Gennady Zhirnov survived the initial impact, he reportedly inhaled large amounts of smoke while helping passengers escape the burning wreckage and died of cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital.
Were these deaths a tragic accident? The disturbing answer was revealed in the subsequent investigation.
What Caused This Fiery Crash?
After investigating the crash, officials determined that there was no reason for Kliuyev to have been flying without visual cues. When the story was initially reported, several outlets — including the Los Angeles Times — claimed that Kliuyev closed the cockpit curtains on a dare.
This was determined through in-flight recordings and an apparent confession from Kliuyev, though he would later change his story and claim that the crash occurred due to a fuel leak and engine failure.
Regardless of the reason behind the disaster, Kliuyev was charged with violating transportation and flight safety rules. Subsequently, the Supreme Court of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic sentenced him to 15 years in prison. He ultimately served just six years behind bars.
The Soviet government attempted to cover up the details of the crash, and the full story only came to light after a firefighter at the scene released photos he’d taken of the aftermath.
Whatever Kliuyev hoped to prove that afternoon, his attempt cost 70 people their lives.
After reading about the crash of Aeroflot Flight 6502, go inside seven of the worst airplane crashes in history. Then, learn about the Korean civilian plane that was shot down by the Soviet Union in 1983.
