Flight and Incident
The aircraft was operated on a cargo flight from Batumi to Kiev, carrying 12 passengers, five crew members, and a load of mandarins. While cruising at an altitude of 4,150 meters, the captain instructed the copilot to activate the deicing systems. For reasons not determined, the copilot instead shut down all four engines.
Emergency Landing and Crash
The crew subsequently made several errors and was unable to restart the engines. The captain declared an emergency and received clearance to divert to Kiev-Borispol Airport for an emergency landing. However, the aircraft could not maintain a safe altitude, and the captain attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft impacted an open field approximately 12 kilometers northwest of Borispol Airport. All 17 occupants were rescued, with 14 sustaining injuries. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable Cause
According to official findings, the accident resulted from a combination of factors: the copilot mistakenly shut down all four engines in flight; the crew was unable to restart the engines due to uncoordinated and hasty actions in a difficult situation; the copilot lacked sufficient experience on this type of aircraft and was not familiar with its operation; and there was a lack of crew training.