What happened
During a flight from Domodedovo to Kazan, the crew attempted a final approach in difficult weather conditions. Because the aircraft was not properly aligned with the runway centerline, the crew initiated a go-around procedure. During the climb, the aircraft reached an altitude of approximately 700 meters before losing control and pitching downward.
As the crew transitioned to the climb, the TOGA mode was engaged, the autopilot was disengaged, and the flaps were retracted from 30 to 15 degrees. Following the retraction of the landing gear, the aircraft experienced a significant pitch-up attitude of roughly 25 degrees, causing the indicated airspeed to drop from 150 to 125 knots. Although the crew attempted to correct the pitch with manual inputs to stabilize the climb, the aircraft reached a peak altitude of 2,300 feet before entering a rapid descent. The aircraft subsequently struck the ground at a near-vertical angle of 75 degrees, traveling at 242 knots. The impact caused the aircraft to disintegrate, and there were 50 fatalities.
Findings
Initial reports from the MAK indicated that the approach was unstable and that the crew failed to adhere to the standard approach profile. The sequence of events suggests that the unstable approach and subsequent flight profile deviations contributed to the loss of control during the climb phase.