On 30 September 1973, the Tupolev Tu-104 operating the route crashed shortly after takeoff from Sverdlovsk, killing all 108 passengers and crew on board.

[1][2] The aircraft involved in the accident was a Tupolev Tu-104B with two Mikulin AM-3M-500 engines, registered СССР-42506, originally to the Uzbekistan division of the state airline, Aeroflot.

The cockpit crew consisted of: Weather conditions at Sverdlovsk (now known as Yekaterinburg) were reported to be mild; visibility was over 6 kilometers, and light northwest winds.

[2] At 18:35:25 MSK, 5–6 seconds after setting the engines to standard power, with an altitude of 350–400 metres (1,150–1,310 ft) and a speed of 480 km/h (260 kn; 300 mph) the crew began the left turn while in the clouds, with a bank angle between 35-40°.

[1][2] The aircraft crashed due to incorrect indications by the main artificial horizon and the compass system, caused by a failure of the electrical supply, resulting in spatial disorientation of the pilots.