What happened
During the final approach phase at Aswan Airport, the flight crew encountered significantly degraded visibility resulting from an active sandstorm. In an effort to regain visual contact with the terrain, the captain initiated a descent to a lower altitude. During this maneuver, the aircraft type struck a sand dune approximately three kilometers before reaching the runway threshold.
The impact resulted in a massive fire that consumed the wreckage. There were no survivors among the 31 fatalities recorded in the accident. The passenger and crew manifest included 25 members of the Egyptian military and six Russian crew members.
Findings
- Severe visibility restrictions caused by environmental sandstorm conditions.
- The decision to descend below safe altitude in an attempt to establish visual ground contact led to the collision with the dune.