What happened
Following departure from Talas Airport, the pilot-in-command executed a right-hand turn toward heading 270°, departing from the left-hand turn required by published flight procedures. Approximately six minutes after takeoff, while the aircraft was climbing through 3,150 meters within cloud cover, it impacted a rocky mountain slope. The accident occurred roughly 39 km away from the departure airfield. All 40 occupants on board were killed in the impact.
Findings
Investigations revealed that the crew failed to adhere to standard operating procedures for the airport, specifically regarding the direction of the initial turn. At the time of the collision, the aircraft had drifted 8.7 km off its intended track. The investigation concluded that the crew continued to climb in clouds while operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), which prevented them from identifying the terrain. Reports also indicated a pattern of systematic procedural violations by the crew during operations at this airport.