What happened
On a scheduled training mission, a single-engine aircraft departed from Khabarovsk-Maly Airport at 17:57 local time. Approximately one hour into the flight, the aircraft lost control and crashed into a snow-covered field situated roughly 16 km west of Golubichnoye within the Amur district. The wreckage was located by search teams the following day.
Data recovered from the site indicates that while flying at an altitude of 800 meters, the plane began a descent at a vertical rate of 7 meters per second. This descent accelerated to 21 meters per second once the aircraft reached 200 meters. Upon striking the ground, the aircraft was traveling at a speed between 250 and 300 km/h, positioned at a 25-degree nose-down angle and a 15-degree left bank. The impact was followed by a fire that consumed the wreckage.
The accident resulted in two fatalities, as both pilots were killed during the event. There were no other occupants on board.
Findings
Investigators were unable to definitively determine the exact reason for the loss of control. Two primary theories were considered: the possibility that an in-flight fire had developed, or that the crew experienced a loss of spatial orientation while flying through a snow-flurry.