Collision
An aircraft was completing the second leg of its flight from Gomel to Donetsk to Sochi when, at an altitude of 5,700 meters, it collided with a Yakovlev Yak-40. The Yak-40, registered CCCP-87772, was operating a flight from Rostov-on-Don to Kerch with 18 people on board. The collision occurred in limited visibility due to cloudy conditions.
Crash
Following the collision, both aircraft entered a dive and crashed into the Black Sea approximately 37 kilometers south of Anapa. The wreckage sank to a depth of about 500 meters. None of the 70 occupants survived.
Investigation
The official investigation determined that the in-flight collision was the consequence of mistakes committed by the air traffic controller in charge of the western sector of the Krasnodar area. The controller violated published procedures and failed to provide the minimum separation of 600 meters required for both aircraft prior to transferring them to the Anapa sector. The lack of visibility due to significant cloud cover was considered a contributing factor, as well as poor ATC coordination between various sectors.