Event
Two hours after departure from Magadan en route to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, while cruising at night at an altitude of 3,600 meters, the crew informed ATC that the right engine had failed. The pilot was instructed to divert to Sobolevo Airport for a safe landing but chose to continue to the destination, despite the aircraft losing altitude as the power on one engine was insufficient. The aircraft descended to 2,700 meters. The pilot was aware of a mountain en route (2,000 meters high) and estimated his altitude was sufficient, with a gap of about 600 meters. Shortly after, weather conditions deteriorated with snow showers and visibility became very limited. At an altitude of 2,000 meters in poor visibility, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Yurshik (2,059 meters high), located about 60 km northwest of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The wreckage was found three days later, on January 4. All 23 occupants were killed.
Probable Cause
According to the official findings, the probable cause was an in-flight failure of the right engine due to a failure of the cylinder head. The decision of the crew to continue to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky instead of diverting to the nearest airport was deemed inappropriate.