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Aeroflot Flight 8556
	CCCP-85097, The aircraft involved in the accident, seen in Helsinki Airport in 1985
Accident
Date	23 May 1991
Summary	Struck the ground short of the runway, pilot error
Site	Leningrad-Pulkovo Airport, Leningrad, Russian SSR, Soviet Union
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Tupolev Tu-154B-1
Operator	Aeroflot
Registration	CCCP-85097
Flight origin	Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport, Georgian SSR
Destination	Leningrad-Pulkovo Airport, Russian SSR
Occupants	181
Passengers	174
Crew	7
Fatalities	13
Injuries	37
Survivors	168

Aeroflot Flight 8556 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Sukhumi to Leningrad. It crashed 13 meters short of the runway on approach killing 13 passengers.^[1]^[2]

Accident

At 12:45 Moscow time the aircraft began its descent from 10,100 metres (33,100 ft). During the descent the weather deteriorated and heavy rain and a cumulonimbus cloud were present, which was not transmitted to the crew. At 13:05 the plane was at around 200 metres (660 ft) when the descent rate was increased to 7.5 m/s and the aircraft slipped below the glideslope. At this time the controllers were replaced in a violation of procedure. The crew noticed they were below the glideslope so they increased engine-power and initiated a climb. The approach continued however and the rate of descent again reached 7 m/s. At an altitude of 20 metres (66 ft) the crew realized the danger and tried to stop the descent, but the aircraft struck the ground 13 meters short of the runway. The landing gear collapsed and the fuselage broke into three pieces.^[3]^[4]

Causes

The approach was destabilized due to a number of factors. The actions of the crew were inconsistent and uncoordinated. There was no assistance from the approach controller in the final stages of the flight. The accident could have been avoided had the pilots initiated a go-around once they realized the approach was unstable.^[3]^[4]