What happened
During a flight from Khandyga to Ust-Nera Airport, the crew of an An-24 encountered difficult visibility conditions while preparing for arrival. While approaching the airfield, the flight crew mistakenly identified a newly constructed runway, designated as runway 85, as the active runway 75.
Air traffic control identified the error and issued two separate instructions for the aircraft to perform a go-around. However, the crew did not follow these directives and proceeded to land on the unfinished runway. As the aircraft reached a speed of 158 km/h during the landing roll, the captain initiated a go-around attempt, but the check pilot intervened and aborted the maneuver shortly thereafter. During the ensuing confusion, the flight engineer retracted the landing gear. Consequently, the aircraft struck the ground on its belly, resulting in significant structural damage.
Despite the impact, there were no casualties among the 29 people on board. All 5 crew members and 24 passengers were able to evacuate the aircraft without injury.
Findings
- The primary factor in the incident was the crew's misidentification of the active runway due to poor visibility and the presence of a new, under-construction strip.