When greed becomes fatal

On 7 February 1981, a Tupolev Tu-104A passenger jet crashed during take off from Pushkin Airport near Leningrad (now St Petersburg), Soviet Union, resulting in the death of all 50 people on board, including 28 high-ranking Soviet military personnel (the whole leadership of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, including 16 admirals). The official investigation concluded that the aircraft was improperly loaded

Evidence was uncovered that led investigators to believe that some military officers did not comply with seating assignments given by the crew and that these officers pressured the crew to make the flight in an unsafely loaded aircraft. Another factor reported by witnesses was that large rolls of printing paper were loaded on board, and these are believed to have rolled rearward during acceleration on take-off, causing the center of gravity to shift aft of acceptable limits, thereby reducing the stability of the aircraft in pitch, making lowering the nose impossible...

It was speculated in certain circles that the military "leadership" saw the junket to Leningrad as a way to enrich themselves by bringing back cargo that could be sold in Vladivostok for immense profits.The gods of lift, drag and gravity were not amused. Such gods are not respecters of rank and privilege.