What happened
A cargo operation scheduled to fly from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Kabul, Afghanistan, via Mineralnye Vody and Tashkent, ended in a fatal accident. During the approach phase of the flight, the crew received clearance to descend through several flight levels, specifically FL200, FL180, and eventually FL95. However, the aircraft descended beneath the established minimum descent altitude.
While operating under conditions of limited visibility caused by low cloud cover, the aircraft struck the side of Mt Vaysi-Karnibaba, a peak reaching an elevation of 2,800 meters. The collision occurred approximately 25.4 km from the airport. The force of the impact and a subsequent fire following the crash resulted in the total destruction of the plane. There were six fatalities among the occupants.
Findings
Investigations into the accident determined that the crew chose to proceed with a descent below the minimum safe altitude while flying over mountainous terrain. At the time of the descent, there was no visual contact with the ground or any potential obstacles. The primary factor in the crash was controlled flight into terrain.