What happened
A flight traveling from Simferopol to Kerch, carrying six passengers from the Ministry of the Interior, crashed during its final approach. As the aircraft neared its destination, the crew encountered significant weather challenges, including fog and cloud layers descending to 100 meters above the ground, which restricted visibility to approximately 500 meters.
While maintaining a speed of 220 km/h on final approach, the pilot-in-command initiated a descent to lower the altitude in an attempt to regain visual contact with the terrain. During this maneuver, the aircraft collided with a concrete power line structure. The impact occurred at an altitude 17 meters below the runway elevation. Following the collision, the plane struck a residential building and subsequently crashed into flames roughly 2,610 meters before reaching the runway. The accident resulted in nine fatalities, including all four crew members and two passengers on board, as well as five individuals on the ground.
Findings
Investigations determined that the flight crew proceeded with the approach below the established glide path without maintaining visual contact with the runway or the ground. Several contributing factors were identified:
- An inaccurate estimation of the aircraft's vertical descent rate
- Inadequate monitoring of the altimeter
- The possibility of an incorrect altimeter pressure setting
- The lack of radar capabilities at the airport to assist air traffic control in monitoring the approach
- Reduced visibility caused by heavy fog
- Insufficient weather information regarding the conditions at the destination airport