Draft:Aeroflot Flight 9981

• Comment: Whilst this could in theory be a notable crash, in its current form, this draft cannot be moved into mainspace. The following is a non-exhaustive list of problems regarding this draft:
  – The § Lawsuit section is nearly entirely unsourced;
  – tailstrike.com is used numerous times in this article, which appears to be an unreliable, since for one, it doesn't really cite any sources;
  – I don't see anything that lends credence to sources #7, #8 (a forum...), and #9;
  – None of the information given at § Crew is verified in the cited source;
  – This source that is used does not verify any of the information that it is cited to;
  – russianplanes.net is not a reliable source; etc... Aviationwikiflight (talk) 21:00, 11 April 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: Please do not remove past AfC decline templates. These are left for future reviewers so that they can review your draft and check that any prior concerns have been addressed. Removing these templates can make it more difficult for your draft to be accepted. Thank you. guninvalid (talk) 17:42, 2 April 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: Event non-notable. João^hola 05:50, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: Hello. There are some unsourced sections. Before resubmitting, find more reliable sources to verify the information in the Aircraft, Crew, and most of the Accident sections. 🌀Hurricane Wind and Fire (talk) (contribs)🔥 03:36, 13 November 2025 (UTC)

Aeroflot Flight 9981

Wreckage of the aircraft
Accident
Date	8 October 1996 (1996-10-08)
Summary	Stalled after failed go-around attempt following engine thrust reverser activation and pilot error
Site	San Francesco al Campo, Italy 45°13′48.63″N 7°39′09.80″E / 45.2301750°N 7.6527222°E / 45.2301750; 7.6527222
Total fatalities	4
Total injuries	15
Aircraft
RA-82069, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in July 1996
Aircraft type	Antonov An-124 Ruslan
Operator	Aeroflot leased with Ayaks Cargo
Registration	RA-82069
Flight origin	Chkalovsky Airport, Moscow, Russia
1st stopover	Turin Airport, Italy
2nd stopover	Abu Dhabi International Airport, United Arab Emirates
Destination	Brunei International Airport, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Occupants	23
Passengers	19
Crew	4
Fatalities	2
Injuries	13
Survivors	21
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities	2
Ground injuries	2

On 8 October 1996, an Antonov An-124 operating as Aeroflot Flight 9981 overran the runway at Turin Airport in the province of Turin in San Francesco al Campo. The plane crashed 400 meters beyond the end of the runway into a farmhouse, causing the deaths of the relief pilot, co-pilot, and some civilians. The thrust reversers activated and could not be deactivated during a go-around, causing a stall and crash.^[1][2]

Background

The An-124-100 (registration number RA-82069, factory 9773054259124, serial 07-02) was produced by the Aviastar-SP on 3 August 1993.^[3] On April 18, 1994, it was leased by Aeroflot. The aircraft was owned by Ajax Cargo. It is equipped with four D-18T bypass three-shaft turbojet engines manufactured by the Zaporozhye Machine-Building Design Bureau.^[1]

The captain of the flight was Alexei Sergeevich Borodai and was the pilot in command. The first officer was Alexander Timofeevich Ugryumov. The Flight Engineer was P.F. Mazurenko. The navigator was Oleg Igorevich Pripuskov. There was also a radio operator onboard, but their names are not known.^[4][5]

Accident

The aircraft, which departed at 08.15 (06.15 in Italy) from Moscow-Chkalovsky airport, arrived at Turin "Sandro Pertini" airport at about 10:25 Italian time. The stop included, in addition to the usual refueling, the loading of 15 luxury cars including Bentley and Rolls-Royce^[6] to be delivered to the Brunei.^[2]

At 10.25 am, the plane obtained authorization to land on the runway of Caselle, which measures 3,300 meters; however, it only measured 2,350 at that time due to some maintenance work.^[2] However, the procedure was too late and failed due to an oversight in not having deactivated the thrust reversers. The plane continued its descent, ending up in the fields beyond the runway, lost the left tail plane and the landing gear, uncovered a house with the left wing and finally crashed into a farmhouse at 10:30. In the impact, the aircraft lost almost all of its left wing, and the front part of the cockpit visibly crumpled.^[1][3]

First officer Ugryumov and relief captain Pripuskov were killed. 55-year-old Fiorentino Martinetto and his 59-year-old wife Maria Perucca, who were inside the farmhouse at that time, lost their lives. 2 more people were injured, and 1 of them later died of their injuries. In total, 2 crew members died in the aircraft, while 3 people died on the ground. The firefighters who rushed to the scene immediately began to extinguish the fire that had broken out in an engine, since these were still burning and there was fear of an explosion of the residual kerosene inside the tanks. Of the 23 members aboard the Antonov, eight were unharmed and abandoned the burning aircraft through the emergency slides, while the other thirteen were found in the wreckage and rushed to the hospital. Captain Borodai and flight engineer Mazurenko survived.^[3][4]

Investigation

The Ivrea Public Prosecutor's Office immediately opened an investigation for negligent disaster and, until late in the evening, questioned the technicians of the control tower of Caselle. A second investigation was started by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT) and following the simultaneous analysis of the black boxes, it was concluded that the pilots had activated the reversers before touching the ground. While performing the go-around, giving maximum power to the engines, the crews forgot to disengage the thrust reversers. This caused the plane to stall, and it did not take off again.^[7] In addition to the late maneuver, other factors that contributed to the disaster were the poor coordination and training of the crew, since the commander had only 431 hours of civil flight experience, and the poor planning of the approach. It emerged that no planning was carried out for a possible missed approach, despite the crew having been informed by the control tower eleven minutes before the crash that the preceding aircraft had the runway in sight at only 200 feet.^[1]

Aftermath

Captain Borodai survived the accident but had both of his legs amputated, he was plead guilty and faces two-years in prison.^[8]

In popular culture

A middle school from San Francesco al Campo featured a short film, Un anno a Cargolandia, produced for the 10th anniversary of the event, it was released on 2016.^[12]

See also

• Aviation accidents and incidents
• Antonov An-124
• Aeroflot

Plane crashes due to the activation of reverse thrust:

• 1966 Air New Zealand DC-8 crash
• Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314
• Lauda Air Flight 004
• TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402
• Kish Air Flight 7170

Plane crashed after failing to takeoff:

• British European Airways Flight 609
• Aeroservicios Ecuatorianos Flight 767-103
• Cubana de Aviación Flight 389
• LAPA Flight 3142
• Comair Flight 5191

References

External links

• CVR Recording on Internet Archive