Rus Flight 9633 refers to the crash involving an IL-76TD aircraft operated by Rus Airlines from Chkalovsky Airport to Taiyuan Wusu Airport with intermediate stops at Alykel Airport and Bratsk Airport. On July 14, 2001, the plane crashed a few seconds after takeoff from Chkalovsky Airport. All 10 people on board were killed.
Ilyushin Il-76TD (registration number RA-76588, factory 0043451530, serial 39-03) was released by the Tashkent Aviation Production Association, named after V. P. Chkalov in April 1984. In the same month, it was transferred to the USSR Air Force as CCCP-76588. In December 1991, it was transferred to the Russian Air Force and re-registered as RA-76588 to reflect the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In 1992, it was transferred to the Ukraine Air Force, from which it was leased to the Russian airlines Atruvera (from October 1994 to November 15, 1995) and Aviacon Zitotrans (from November 15, 1995 to November 4, 1999). On November 4, 1999, it was put into storage. On July 17, 2000, it was purchased by Rus airlines.
It was equipped with four D-30KP-2 turbojet engines from the Rybinsk Engine-Building Plant. On the date of the crash, the aircraft had made 1831 take-off-landing cycles and had flown 3523 hours.
The crew of the RUR9633 flight consisted of:
The pilot in command was Vyacheslav S. Boyko, who had flown 12,850 hours, with over 5,000 of them on the IL-76.
The first officer was Gennady A. Butenko, who had flown 230 hours on the IL-76.
The navigator was V. N. Tutaev.
The flight engineer was V. P. Geraskin.
The radio operator was A. B. Rubtsov.
The on-board operators were K. F. Pavlov and S. S. Zavyalov.
The inspector was Vyacheslav V. Kuskov, head of the Certification Department of operators for the OMTU of the Central Regions of Air Transport for the Ministry of Transport of Russia.
The aircraft was operating a cargo flight RUR9633 from Moscow to Taiyuan with intermediate landings in Norilsk and Bratsk. The weather at Chkalovsky airfield consisted of fog with a visibility of 500–900 metres, a vertical visibility of 70–80 metres, and a temperature of +8 °C.
According to the loading documents, there were 40.2 tons of cargo on board. The total take-off weight of the aircraft was 191.9 tons, but a weighing error resulted in the actual take-off weight being approximately 204 tons, 14 tons higher than the maximum take off weight (MTOW). Additionally, the pilots did not perform center-of-gravity calculations or prepare a plan for the proper placement of cargo. This incorrect loading would cause problems with the control of the aircraft on takeoff.
Prior to takeoff the flaps were set down at 20° and the stabilizers were nose-up at 5.4° for takeoff. The plane began to accelerate along the runway, and after a run-up of 1350 meters at 250 km/h, the plane began rotation at 290km/h, and achieved separation. Immediately after takeoff, the plane began to list to the left, and to compensate, the PIC attempted to steer the aircraft to the right, achieving a 7° right bank. At an altitude of 23 meters, the pilots shifted the stabilizer from -5.4° to -3.9° to dive without using the elevator, although moving the stabilizers was forbidden on takeoff. After the stabilizer was shifted, the aircraft stopped gaining altitude and began to descend. The commander pulled the elevator back, but was unable to prevent the collision.
At 08:53 MSK, flight RUR9633 crashed into trees at 930 meters from the end of the runway before impacting the terrain 530 meters later. The aircraft crashed into a forest and broke apart, killing all 10 people on board the plane.
It was noted during the course of the investigation that modulation of the stabilizer during takeoff was a repeated violation of the flight manual by the PIC. This, combined with the lack of a correct weight and balance sheet (which would have provided a set value for the stabilizer to compensate for the centre of gravity of the aircraft) resulted in the crew modulating the stabilizer value, which provides relief on the elevator. The lowering of the stabilizer value dropped the nose of the aircraft and due to the low altitude, it was irreversible, resulting into a controlled flight into terrain.