What happened
On the runway at Naryan-Mar Airport, a Mil Mi-8 helicopter, registered RA-24247, completed a local flight and successfully landed. The helicopter was carrying three crew members and eight passengers. Following its arrival, the crew received instructions to exit the runway via taxiway 4.
Shortly after, approximately two minutes later, an Antonov AN-12 was cleared for landing on the same runway. During the landing phase, the Antonov AN-12 collided with the stationary helicopter. The impact resulted in the destruction of both aircraft. The accident resulted in 8 fatalities and 6 injuries. Specifically, all eleven occupants of the helicopter suffered casualties, including eight deaths and three injuries, while the nine individuals on board the fixed-wing aircraft sustained injuries.
Findings
Investigations into the collision highlighted significant issues regarding air traffic control coordination. Naryan-Mar Airport is managed by both military and civil air traffic services. While civil controllers had cleared the helicopter to land, military controllers subsequently cleared the Antonov aircraft for landing on the same strip less than two minutes later. This lack of coordination between civil and military ATC services resulted in insufficient separation between the two arriving flights.
Additionally, the crew of the Antonov aircraft did not execute a commanded go-around. Although the tower controller instructed the flight crew to abort the landing and initiate a go-around procedure, the crew misunderstood the instruction. They believed the controller's message pertained to the reduced visibility, which was measured at 500 metres, rather than an alert regarding the presence of another aircraft on the runway.