Aircraft
The accident aircraft was an Ilyushin Il-86 with registration RA-86074. It first flew and entered service in 1985, accumulating 23,711 flight hours and 7,132 pressurization cycles. The crew consisted of four pilots and 11 flight attendants. Captain V. I. Ivochkin had 16,501 total flight hours, including 6,080 on the Il-86. First officer S. K. Sevastiyanov had 8,920 hours (1,126 on the Il-86). Flight engineer E. A. Malinin and navigator S. N. Afanasyev completed the flight deck crew.
Accident
Flight 521 operated as a scheduled passenger service from Sheremetyevo International Airport to Dubai International Airport. The flight from Moscow was uneventful. During the approach to Dubai, the crew followed a non-standard procedure intended to reduce noise: they switched off the landing gear circuit breaker before extending the flaps, planning to reactivate it later. After the flaps were extended, flight engineer Malinin extended the landing gear but forgot to turn the circuit breaker back on. This violation of rules meant the landing gear remained retracted. At 20:09 local time, the aircraft made a belly landing on Runway 30R. It skidded a short distance before stopping. Engines two and three, along with the rear cargo compartment, caught fire. Airport firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, and all 322 occupants were evacuated safely.
Investigation
The Interstate Aviation Committee, Federal Air Transport Agency, Ilyushin, and Aeroflot participated in the investigation. The investigation concluded that the pilots initiated a poor approach configuration and violated several laws. Poor coordination and crew resource management were found to have contributed to the accident.
Aftermath
Aeroflot paid each passenger approximately $400 as compensation. The airline also indemnified Dubai International Airport $10 million for the 13-hour closure of Runway 30R while the Il-86 blocked it. The pilots lost their certificates, and the captain was dismissed. The airframe was written off, used for spare parts, and scrapped by 2003; it later sank in the Persian Gulf.