Incident
During an approach to Poltava Airport, the flight crew encountered poor weather conditions characterized by limited visibility due to low clouds and local patches of fog. Unable to visually locate the runway, the captain decided to abandon the first approach and initiated a go-around.
Sequence of Events
A few minutes later, during a second landing attempt, the aircraft descended to a height of 50–60 meters. At that altitude, it entered a patch of fog, and visual contact with the ground was lost. Despite this loss of visual reference, the pilot-in-command continued the approach. The airplane subsequently struck the ground and came to rest 2,130 meters short of the runway threshold, suffering damage beyond repair. All 11 occupants on board escaped uninjured.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the probable cause was poor approach planning on the part of the crew, who failed to properly monitor the instruments during an approach completed in marginal weather conditions, and failure of the crew to discontinue the approach after visual contact was lost.