Flight History
The aircraft was completing a cargo flight from Andijan to Norilsk with an intermediate stop in Omsk, carrying five passengers, seven crew members, and a load of 12 tons of fruits. En route from Omsk to Norilsk, the crew diverted to Igarka Airport due to poor weather conditions at the destination. The aircraft then departed Igarka on the last leg of the day.
Weather Conditions
Upon arrival at Norilsk, weather conditions included overcast skies with cloud base at 100 metres, visibility 2,410 metres, mist, heavy rain, outside air temperature 0°C, and humidity 98%.
Approach and Impact
On short final, after establishing visual contact with the ground, the captain realized the airplane was approaching the runway 220 metres from its threshold but 330 metres to the left of its extended centerline. The captain initiated a go-around procedure, at which point the aircraft pitched up to an angle of 16°. With such excessive angle of attack, the aircraft rolled to the left and struck the ground to the left of the runway. It rolled for about 60 metres then took off again. With a nose-up attitude of 14°, the aircraft climbed at a rate of 7 metres per second to a height of 55 metres before stalling again. It rolled to the right by 45° and struck the ground at a speed of 200 km/h, then crashed 1,332 metres past the runway end.
Injuries and Fatalities
The copilot and a passenger were seriously injured; 10 other occupants were killed.
Probable Cause
The accident was the consequence of a wrong approach configuration on part of the crew who allowed the aircraft to deviate from the approach glide above the permissible limit. The following contributing factors were reported: - Unsatisfactory crew interactions during the approach procedure, - Once the decision altitude was reached, the captain unreasonably left the controls to the copilot, - The crew decided to continue the descent beyond the minimum decision height without visual contact with the runway/approach lights, - The decision to initiate a go-around procedure was taken too late, - The performance level of the crew may have been reduced due to a long shift, - Poor weather conditions at destination airport.