What happened
On the day of the accident, an An-148 departed from runway 14R at Moscow-Domodedovo Airport at 14:21 local time. Approximately six minutes after takeoff, while the aircraft was climbing through 6,000 feet in light snowfall, it began a descent. The plane subsequently disintegrated in a snow-covered field in Argunovo, located roughly 37 km southeast of the airport. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and a debris field spanning over one kilometer. There were 71 fatalities among the occupants.
Data recovered from the flight recorders indicated that the aircraft remained intact until it struck the ground. Investigation of the flight parameters revealed that speed variations were detected on all three airspeed indicators three minutes after rotation. Shortly after the autopilot disconnected, the aircraft experienced vertical loads between 0.5 and 1.5 G, followed by a pitch-down to a 35-degree angle. Five seconds before impact, the plane entered a right bank of 25 degrees.
Findings
The investigation determined that the primary cause was the failure to activate Pitot tube heating, which led to ice blockage and unreliable airspeed readings during flight in instrument meteorological conditions. Several contributing factors were identified:
- The crew failed to follow the pre-takeoff checklist regarding the activation of Pitot heating.
- Operational pressures and a rushed departure due to previous flight delays contributed to the oversight.
- Design limitations of the An-148 regarding ground-based heating restrictions increased the risk of error.
- A lack of effective safety management within the airline, including systemic failures in monitoring crew training and flight safety protocols.
- Inadequate pilot training regarding human factors and crew resource management, specifically leading to a loss of situational awareness and an inability to manage the emergency effectively.