What happened
A cargo transport mission originating from Mys Schmidta, which included scheduled stops at Chokurdely and Tiksi, ended in a fatal accident near Tolmachevo Airport. The aircraft was transporting 9.9 tons of various equipment at the time of the incident.
During the flight segment following departure from Tiksi, the number four engine experienced a failure. Due to unfavorable weather conditions preventing a return to Tiksi, the captain elected to proceed toward Novosibirsk using the remaining three engines. While the flight proceeded without further incident initially, the crew began their descent into Tolmachevo when the three operational engines simultaneously lost power. This loss of propulsion caused the aircraft type to lose altitude, eventually impacting trees in a forested region situated approximately 13 km from the airport. The impact resulted in the destruction of the plane and left four fatalities and two injuries.
Findings
Investigations into the crash revealed that the fuel supply had been compromised by salt water contamination. This presence of seawater led to significant corrosion within the aircraft's fuel delivery system, ultimately resulting in the total loss of engine power.