What happened
During a scheduled night training mission operating between Kirovograd and Sukhumi, an aircraft experienced a catastrophic loss of control. The flight was performing a return leg from Sukhumi-Babushara Airport when the incident occurred during the initial climb phase.
While maintaining an altitude of approximately 120 meters and a velocity of 250 km/h, the crew attempted to extend the flaps. This maneuver coincided with the aircraft entering an uncontrolled descent. The plane accelerated to 370 km/h before impacting the surface of the Black Sea, roughly 690 meters from the shoreline.
The impact resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft, which subsequently sank. Of the seven people on board, there were six fatalities and one survivor, a crew member who was successfully rescued from the scene.
Findings
Official investigations into the crash were unable to establish a definitive cause for the accident. However, investigators noted that they could not dismiss the possibility that the pilot-in-command experienced spatial disorientation during the climb.