2011 – 12 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl season was the franchise 's 52nd season of play in professional ice hockey in Russia . It was supposed to be its fourth season in the Kontinental Hockey League ( KHL ) . The season was scheduled to start on September 8 , 2011 . However , on September 7 , while traveling to their season opener , the team 's plane crashed , killing 43 people , including 25 roster players , and 11 members of the team staff . Only Alexander Galimov survived the initial impact of the crash with severe injuries , but died on September 12 . Another roster player , Maxim Zyuzyakin , did not travel with the team on the plane . As a consequence , the league cancelled the September 7 Opening Cup game between Salavat Yulaev and Atlant already in progress , postponing the opening of the KHL season until September 12
team 's plane crashed
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash
2011–12 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl season