What happened
A positioning flight operated by an unnamed carrier departed Simferopol, destined for Skopje, with a total of six crew members and two passengers on board. The mission involved traveling to Skopje to pick up a cargo of automotive spare parts before continuing back to Ukraine. Shortly before the accident, another An-12 from the same airline arrived near Skopje but diverted to Sofia due to severe weather, including heavy rain and thunderstorms.
During the approach to Skopje, the flight crew attempted to navigate around the active thunderstorm. In doing so, the aircraft deviated from its intended course, following a heading of 230° instead of the planned 163°. Although the crew was subsequently cleared for an approach to runway 34 and adjusted to a heading of 140°, the aircraft struck the side of Mt Lisec at an altitude of 5,200 feet. The mountain peak stands at 1,934 metres, and the impact occurred approximately 26 km south of the runway 34 threshold. The wreckage was located at an elevation of 1,600 metres, and the crash resulted in 8 fatalities.
Findings
The investigation indicates that the crew followed an incorrect heading while attempting to avoid thunderstorm activity, which led to the controlled flight into terrain.