Tupolev Tu-154 - Incidents and Accidents

Incidents and Accidents

As of January 2011, since 1970 there have been 110 serious incidents involving the Tu-154, and 69 hull losses, 30 of which did not involve fatalities. Of the fatal incidents, six resulted from terrorist or military action (two other war-time losses were non fatal) including an accidental missile shoot-down by Ukraine, several from poor runway conditions in winter (including one in which the airplane struck snow plows on the runway), cargo overloading in the lapse of post-Soviet federal safety standards, and mid-air collisions due to faulty air traffic control. Other incidents resulted from mechanical problems (two cases prior to 2001), running out of fuel on unscheduled routes, pilot errors (including lack of flight training for new crews), and cargo fires. The Tu-154 is described as having an average (or better than expected) safety record considering its length of service and heavy use in demanding conditions where other airliners are unable to operate. On January 2, 2011, Russia's Federal Transport Oversight Agency advised airlines to stop using remaining examples of the Tu-154 (B variant) until the fatal fire incident in Surgut had been investigated. Its operation in Iran, which is subject to an aircraft parts embargo, ceased in February 2011 due to a number of incidents involving the type (almost 9% of all Tu-154 losses have occurred in Iran) In 2010 there were two fatal losses of the Tu-154 due to pilot error and/or weather conditions (a Polish presidential jet attempting to land at an airfield in heavy fog and a Russian-registered plane that suffered engine stall after a crew member inactivated a fuel transfer pump). Following these accidents, in March 2011 the Russian Federal Bureau of Aviation recommended a withdrawal of remaining Tu-154M from service. In December 2010, Uzbekistan Airways also declared that it will cease to operate Tu-154s from 2011.