What happened
During an operation to dismantle the SP-22 Polar station, several aircraft were utilized to transport crew members and supplies to Dikson. An An-12 was tasked with carrying various heavy equipment, including tractors and wood, alongside nine passengers and a seven-member crew.
On the morning of the accident, a significant fissure approximately two meters wide had formed in the ice, which restricted the available takeoff distance to just 900 meters. In response to this limitation, the crew removed some cargo to reduce the aircraft's weight to 52 tons before attempting departure. During the takeoff roll, the pilot initiated rotation roughly 30 meters before reaching the fissure. Both main landing gear units struck the crack in the ice, leading to a loss of control and a subsequent crash that resulted in an intense fire.
Out of the sixteen people on board, there was one fatality involving the radio navigator, while the remaining passengers and crew members sustained injuries, some of which were severe. The aircraft was completely destroyed during the impact and fire.
Findings
Investigations revealed that the aircraft had remained on the ground for approximately three hours and fifty minutes between its arrival and departure, a duration long enough to allow the ice to fracture further. A primary contributing factor was the crew's decision not to offload all passengers to further decrease the takeoff weight. Additionally, the mission had been delayed by unfavorable weather conditions in the preceding days, which contributed to the unstable state of the ice surface.