Out of more than 950 Il-76 transport units of all versions, only a few aircraft crashed because of the fire.
The other day in the Russian Federation, a military transport Il-76 of the “aerospace forces” completely crashed and burned down, and in accordance with the Russian “newspeak” – “as a result of touching the ground, it was partially destroyed.”
The cause of the disaster, which killed five of the nine people on board, according to preliminary data, was a fire in one engine and a failed fire extinguishing system.
Reliability and disasters of IL-76
In total, more than 950 units of all versions of the Il-76 were produced, of which about 100 aircraft were lost due to disasters and serious accidents, as well as due to hostilities. Partially, this figure includes aircraft shot down and damaged on the ground, but in most cases, the cause of the accident and disaster was determined by the overload of the aircraft. But four, not counting the last one, are the result of fires.
Of these, the Il-76MD crash in Ryazan is more similar to the crash of the commercial Il-76TD (civilian modernization of 1982 with a maximum load of 50 tons) in Pakistani Karachi in 2010 and the military transport Il-76MD in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku in 1989 .
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In the accident in Karachi, immediately upon takeoff, the fourth (farthest from the starboard side) engine caught fire at the Il-76, which began to collapse and damaged the neighboring engine, which also started a fire. That is, both engines were disabled on one side.
The fire extinguishing system did not work, and the power of the two working engines was not enough to keep the loaded car in the air. IL-76 fell just 500 meters from the runway to the construction site. The entire crew of eight, as well as four construction workers on the ground, were killed. The official cause of the crash was a technical malfunction of the aircraft.
In the crash in Baku in 1989, five minutes after takeoff at an altitude of 1.6 km, the first engine (the leftmost one) caught fire and fell off, fragments of turbine blades damaged the fuel tank and fuel lines, which caused a fire, and also damaged the fire extinguishing system.
Nevertheless, the plane was in the air for another 11 minutes and returned to the airfield. But the flame spread by the wing, the structure weakened and collapsed. The plane crashed into the Caspian Sea 1.5 km from the coast. Nine crew members and 48 paratroopers were killed. The official cause of the crash was recognized as an engine defect – the destruction of the inter-shaft bearing.
Given the available video, the Ryazan disaster is more reminiscent of the Karachi disaster. The IL-76 was unable to gain altitude, that is, it is quite possible that two engines on one side were put out of action at once, and the fire extinguishing system was killed by debris.
Il-76 military transport aircraft
IL-76 began to be created in the USSR in 1966 by order of the Ministry of Aviation Industry. The fact is that at that time the USSR was actively developing airborne troops, which needed a medium-speed turbojet aircraft capable of transporting, and most importantly, landing armored vehicles. And in addition to this – to be operated even from unpaved airfields.
In fact, this aircraft was supposed to be an addition to the An-22 “Antey”, which was responsible for strategic transportation. And, despite many nuances with the aviation industry of the USSR, the development of the aircraft continued relatively quickly and without catastrophic problems, and already in 1971, the Il-76 took to the air for the first time.
With a cargo compartment dimensions of 24.54 m, a width of 3.45 m and a height of 3.4, the Il-76 initially had a maximum carrying capacity of only 28 tons. Compared to the An-22 Antey, which lifts up to 60-80 tons, it is relatively small. Therefore, the aircraft was modernized by strengthening the fuselage, in the Il-76M version, which took to the skies after seven years, this parameter was brought up to 42-48 tons.
And already in 1981, the Il-76MD made its first flight, in which the airframe was once again strengthened, the chassis was modernized, the flight range was increased, and the carrying capacity increased to 48 tons.
The flight characteristics of the aircraft are provided by four D-30KP engines (in the Il-76MD version) with a total thrust of 12,000 kgf each, as well as powerful wing mechanization. The flight range with a load of 20 tons is 7200 km, and 47 tons – 4200 km.
In the Il-76MD version, it provides transportation for up to three airborne combat vehicles or up to 128 paratroopers. In the case of transporting people without the need for landing and installing a second deck, it can accommodate 225 people.
The Il-76 remains the backbone of the airborne troops of the Russian Federation, and is also used by the armed forces of Ukraine. In addition, it is in service with about 15 more countries, and as a civilian transport aircraft it is quite common in aviation transport companies.
Characteristics of IL-76MD
- Crew: 6-9 people
- Wingspan: 50.5 m
- Maximum takeoff weight: 190 т
- Maximum load: 48 т
- Engines: 4×12 000 kgf
- Max speed: 850 km / h
- Range of flight: with a load of 20 tons – 7200 km, 40 tons – 4200 km
- practical ceiling: 12 km
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