What happened
The flight departed Kharkiv Airport in the afternoon with a planned route heading north at an assigned altitude of 1,200 meters. As the aircraft approached the Belgorod region, the crew faced deteriorating weather conditions characterized by heavy rain and significant turbulence. To navigate around cloud formations and thunderstorm activity, the pilot adjusted the flight path multiple times.
Eventually, the captain elected to descend to an altitude of 400 meters to pass beneath the cloud layer. Approximately 45 minutes after this decision, the aircraft encountered intense turbulence that caused it to enter a nose-down attitude. The plane subsequently impacted the ground in a field at a speed of 360 km/h. The impact resulted in the destruction of the airframe.
Findings
The accident investigation concluded that the primary cause was the loss of control triggered by severe turbulence within thunderstorm activity. Official findings highlighted significant deficiencies in the meteorological support provided to the crew. It was determined that weather information transmitted from meteorological services was inaccurate and failed to reflect actual conditions. Furthermore, the report cited a lack of organizational discipline and insufficient rigor in the weather prediction processes as contributing factors.
Eight people were killed in the crash, including three crew members and five passengers, while three other occupants sustained serious injuries.