Accident
On an approach to Minsk-2 Airport runway 31 at night, the crew of a BAe-125-800B aircraft, registration RA-02807, encountered poor visibility due to marginal weather. The 'Pull Up' alarm sounded, prompting the captain to initiate a go-around. Minutes later, the crew attempted a second approach. At approximately 550 meters altitude, they realized the wrong ILS frequency had been set and corrected it. On final approach, the EGPWS alarm sounded for 35 seconds, but the captain continued the descent. The aircraft struck trees in a wooded area 3 km short of the runway, burst into flames, and was destroyed by the post-crash fire. All five occupants were killed.
Investigation
The investigation determined that the flight from Moscow-Vnukovo Airport had been uneventful until the approach. The crew operated under night conditions and poor visibility. The approach was conducted in weather conditions that met ICAO CAT I minima. The investigation identified multiple operational and human factors.
Probable Cause
The probable cause of the accident was the failure of the crew to execute a missed approach or divert to an alternate when visual contact with the ground was lost below decision height during the transition to visual flight. Additionally, the crew did not properly respond to repeated TAWS alerts, leading to controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). Contributing factors included deficiencies in crew training, particularly in automatic flight modes and flight director use; the captain's erroneous selection of the wrong ILS frequency; inadequate preparation for CAT I conditions (with falsified meteorological data in the flight log); poor crew resource management; insufficient oversight by the airline's management; and psychological factors, including the captain's undiagnosed chronic ischemic heart disease, which may have reduced his performance under stress.