What happened
An incident occurred involving a three-engine aircraft that departed from Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport, located east of Beijing, without authorization. The flight was initiated by nine officers from the Chinese Air Force who intended to desert their posts. During the flight, which proceeded over Mongolian airspace, the plane crashed in the vicinity of the city of Öndörkhaan.
All nine fatalities occurred during the impact. The crash took place while the aircraft was in the cruise phase of its flight.
Findings
The exact reason for the crash remains undetermined. Investigations have considered two primary possibilities: a loss of control resulting from fuel exhaustion, or the possibility that the aircraft was intercepted and shot down by a fighter pilot.