What happened
While operating a leg from Kazan to Sverdlovsk, the crew was cruising at an altitude of 400 metres within cloud cover. They encountered severe icing and elected to divert to Yanaul Airport in the Republic of Bashkortostan. During the final approach phase, the pilot-in-command initiated a go-around for reasons that were not specified. As the aircraft executed a steep turn at low altitude, control was lost, resulting in a stall. The airplane subsequently crashed into a meat processing plant. All five crew members and five passengers were killed, while two additional passengers sustained serious injuries. The airframe was destroyed in the impact.
Findings
Investigations identified severe icing as the primary cause of the accident. Several contributory factors were noted regarding operational decisions and meteorological support. The crew opted to continue flying within clouds and performed low-altitude maneuvers despite the aircraft being iced over. Additionally, the meteorologist at Kazan Airport issued a forecast that failed to highlight the potential for icing along the route between Kazan and Krasnufimsk. The air traffic controller at Kazan Airport was found to have made a superficial assessment of weather conditions. Instead of issuing a specific instruction to fly above the cloud layer, given the high cloud cover forecast for Sverdlovsk, the controller transferred responsibility to the captain with a general note regarding landing in Yanaul if weather deteriorated.