Incident
The incident involved a four-engine aircraft that was in the process of descending to Yeysk Airport. As part of standard procedures, the crew initiated a fuel transfer from the auxiliary fuel tanks to the main central fuel tank. Shortly after the transfer began, all four engines stopped operating almost at the same time. The aircraft, now without engine power, lost altitude and crashed into the Azov Sea. The crash site was located a few kilometers offshore from Yeysk Airport. Out of the total number of occupants on board, 25 were killed and 25 were rescued.
Probable Cause
The official investigation into the accident determined the probable cause to be that the main central tank had not been drained or cleaned for a long time, allowing a large quantity of water to accumulate. When fuel was transferred from the auxiliary tanks to the main central tank, it mixed with the water. This mixture contaminated the fuel lines, which caused all four engines to fail.