Aeroflot Flight 821

Aeroflot Flight 821

The aircraft involved in the accident 3 months before the crash.
Fatal accident summary
Date	14 September 2008
Summary	Pilot error, poor crew resource management, spatial disorientation
Site	Perm, Russia 57°58′17″N 56°12′54″E / 57.97139°N 56.21500°E / 57.97139; 56.21500Coordinates: 57°58′17″N 56°12′54″E / 57.97139°N 56.21500°E / 57.97139; 56.21500
Passengers	82
Crew	6
Fatalities	88 (all)
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Boeing 737–505
Operator	Aeroflot-Nord
Registration	VP-BKO
Flight origin	Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia
Destination	Perm International Airport, Perm, Russia

Aeroflot Flight 821, operated by Aeroflot-Nord in a service agreement with Aeroflot and as its subsidiary, crashed on approach to Perm International Airport on 14 September 2008 at 5:10 local time (UTC+06). All 82 passengers and 6 crew members were killed. A section of the Trans-Siberian Railway was damaged by the crash. Flight 821 is the deadliest accident involving a Boeing 737-500 to date, surpassing the 1993 crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 733 and the second-deadliest aviation incident in 2008, behind Spanair Flight 5022.

The primary cause of the crash was that both pilots had lost spatial orientation due to their inexperience with the Western type of attitude indicator on the aircraft. Lack of adequate rest, poor CRM and alcohol consumption by the captain also contributed to the accident.

This air disaster resulted in the rebranding of Aeroflot-Nord into Nordavia, effective on 1 December 2009.

The Boeing 737–505, registration VP-BKO, an aircraft belonging to the Aeroflot subsidiary Aeroflot-Nord but operating as Aeroflot flight SU821 from Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport to Perm (Russia) crashed into a railway line southwest of Perm 5:10 AM local time (or 13 September 2008, 23:10 UTC). The weather at the time of accident was rainy (unbroken clouds at 240 m, light rain).

According to an interview given by the air traffic controller shortly after the disaster, the crew did not respond correctly to ATC commands: after going around, it turned eastward instead of turning westward. However, the crew reported no emergency onboard and confirmed all commands given by ATC. At 5:10 AM, radio contact with the plane was lost; minutes later it crashed in the outskirts of Perm.