1977 Aeroflot Ilyushin 62 Crash

1977 Aeroflot Ilyushin 62 Crash

Aeroflot Flight 331, refers to an Ilyushin Il-62M, registration CCCP-86614, that was operated by the International Civil Aviation Directorate of Aeroflot as an international scheduled Moscow–Frankfurt–Lisbon–Havana passenger service, and crashed 1 km (0.62 mi) away from José Martí International Airport, Havana, Cuba, on 27 May 1977 after it hit power lines on its final approach to the airport in poor weather. It was disclosed the aircraft was attempting an emergency landing, having one of its engines on fire. Only two of the 70 occupants on board survived; another person on the ground was also killed.

At the time the accident took place it was the deadliest aviation accident in Cuba's history; as of August 2012, it remains the second deadliest one, behind Cubana Flight 9646. The cause of the crash was determined as pilot error according to the official report.