What happened
A charter flight traveling from Nizhnevartovsk to Bugulma was carrying 37 oil company employees and 4 crew members when the accident occurred. During the approach to the destination, the aircraft encountered weather conditions characterized by low visibility, icing, and cloud ceilings as low as 80 meters. As the aircraft descended to 900 meters, the crew encountered icing, but the deicing systems were not activated. Although an icing alarm sounded in the cockpit, the captain proceeded with the approach.
While the aircraft was configured with 30 degrees of flaps, it became unstable and drifted to the right of the approach path. Air traffic control instructed the crew to perform a go-around. Upon increasing engine power to initiate the maneuver, the aircraft reached a high angle of attack, resulting in a stall and a sudden pitch-down to approximately 75-80 degrees. The aircraft type impacted the ground at a speed of 260 km/h, approximately 802 meters before reaching the runway. The wreckage was located 598 meters to the right of the runway centerline. The impact resulted in 41 fatalities.
Findings
- The crew encountered icing conditions but did not activate the deicing systems.
- The aircraft experienced a stall during the go-around maneuver following the activation of increased engine power.