Incident Overview
On a morning test flight departing from Voronezh-Pridacha Airport, an Antonov AN-148 aircraft crashed in a snow-covered field near Garbuzovo. The aircraft was operated by the Voronezh Aircraft Production Association (VASO) and was intended for delivery to the Myanmar Air Force. All six occupants—two manufacturer pilots, two engineers, and two Myanmar Air Force pilots—were killed. The aircraft was totally destroyed and burst into flames upon impact.
Flight Sequence
The flight was a test flight with six crew members on board. During the flight, the crew decided to perform an emergency descent. As the aircraft descended, it accelerated to an excessive speed, reaching 110 km/h above the design limit speed. This led to low-frequency vibrations in all axes and an increase in alternating accelerations that exceeded the aircraft's margin of safety. Consequently, the aircraft lost parts of its tail, stabilizers, and elevators while still airborne. It entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed, leaving a debris field. Investigators later found tail components, stabilizers, and elevators approximately 3 kilometers from the main impact site.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the accident was caused by inadvertently permitting the aircraft to accelerate 110 km/h above its design limit speed during the emergency descent. This resulted in low-frequency vibrations, excessive alternating accelerations, and structural failure in flight, followed by collision with the ground. Contributing factors included untimely and inadequate crew actions in controlling the emergency descent, lack of proper coordination among crew members, deviations from flight manual recommendations for emergency descent procedures, and misleading instrument indications outside characteristic operating conditions.
Aircraft and Operator
The accident involved an Antonov AN-148, marking the first crash of this aircraft type. The operator was the Voronezh Aircraft Production Association (VASO), the manufacturer of the aircraft.