What happened
During a flight scheduled from Irkutsk to Novosibirsk, the crew encountered deteriorating weather conditions at their destination. This prompted a diversion toward Krasnoyarsk Airport. While performing a night approach into the Krasnoyarsk region, air traffic control authorized the aircraft to descend to an altitude of 1,500 meters.
As the twin engine aircraft descended through 1,725 meters in conditions of low visibility, it struck the eastern slope of Mt Sivukha, which stands at a height of 1,807 meters. The impact occurred approximately 30 km from the Mana River. Following the failure of the flight to reach its destination, search and rescue operations were initiated but were later halted after no evidence of the wreckage or the 19 fatalities could be located.
The debris was not discovered until June 1955, found roughly 132 km south of the original intended flight path. The aircraft was destroyed during the collision.
Findings
Investigations into the accident identified several contributing elements. The aircraft had drifted significantly off its planned course due to strong northwest winds reaching speeds of up to 130 km/h. Additionally, investigators noted deficiencies in flight organization and oversight, specifically regarding the authorization for the crew to descend to 1,500 meters when the minimum safe altitude for that area was 2,100 meters. Furthermore, inaccurate information concerning wind components was provided to the crew during the flight.