Incident Sequence
During the takeoff roll, the aircraft reached a speed of 135 km/h when the pilot-in-command slowly initiated rotation, causing the nose gear to lift off. As the speed increased to 165 km/h, a more vigorous rotation was performed, at which point the flight engineer retracted the landing gear. The aircraft then began to sink back onto the runway at a speed of 190 km/h, contacting the ground with its belly while the landing gears were partially retracted. Both propellers struck the ground during this impact. The aircraft slid for approximately 740 meters. Eight seconds later, the flight engineer shut down both engines, and the propellers were feathered after another 20 seconds. The aircraft continued sliding for an additional 300 meters before coming to rest 1,670 meters from the departure point.
Evacuation and Damage
All 32 occupants evacuated the aircraft safely. The aircraft sustained damage beyond repair.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that a lack of crew coordination during the takeoff roll procedure led the flight engineer to retract the undercarriage prematurely.