Aeroflot Flight 4225

Aeroflot Flight 4225 was a Tupolev Tu-154B-2 that was a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Alma-Ata Airport (now Almaty) in Soviet Kazakhstan to Simferopol Airport in Soviet Ukraine on July 8, 1980. The aircraft reached an altitude of no more than 500 feet when the airspeed suddenly dropped because of thermal currents it encountered during the climb out, causing the airplane to stall before traveling 5 km (3.1 mi) away, crash and catch fire, killing all 156 passengers and 10 crew on board.<ref name=asn>Template:Cite web</ref> To date, it retains the highest death toll of any aviation accident in Kazakhstan.<ref name="asn" />

Accident

At the time of the accident Alma-Ata was experiencing a heat wave. It was around 00:39 and Flight 4225 took off from Alma-Ata Airport in Soviet Kazakhstan.<ref name=asn /> Only a few seconds after take off, the flight reached 500 feet. The weather was not on the flight's side; the plane reached a zone of hot air and then the Soviet aircraft's airspeed dramatically dropped and the plane was caught in a big downdraft. The Tupolev stalled and plummeted, nose down, into a farm near the suburbs of Alma-Ata. It slid into a ravine, caught fire and disintegrated, killing everyone on board.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Investigation

The Soviet aviation board concluded that the crash was caused by windshear which took place while the aircraft was near its maximum takeoff weight for the local conditions which included mountains.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

See also

• Aeroflot accidents and incidents
• Pan Am Flight 759

External links

• https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zpwcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yWcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6764,878394&dq=airplane+crashes+in+kazakhstan+163+dead&hl=en
• https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dPxXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2vYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6573,1658515&dq=airplane+crashes+in+kazakhstan+163+dead&hl=en