Accident Sequence
The crew commenced the approach to Kharkiv Airport during nighttime hours. Visibility was limited. Air traffic control cleared the aircraft to descend. While traveling at a speed of 270 km/h, the airplane struck the tops of trees, entered a stall, and subsequently crashed on the slope of a wooded hill. The crash site was located 12 km short of the runway threshold. As a result of the impact, one crew member and 18 passengers were killed, and 31 other occupants sustained injuries, some of them serious. The aircraft was destroyed.
Investigation and Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the accident was caused by an air traffic control error. The controller transmitted a wrong barometric pressure setting of 757 mm instead of the correct value of 737 mm, which caused the aircraft to descend 220 meters lower than its intended altitude. Additionally, the crew was found at fault for failing to react to the ground proximity warning system's horn, which had been sounding for 23 seconds prior to impact. The investigation's probable cause thus attributed the accident to both the ATC error and the crew's inaction.