What happened
On the morning of the accident, an aircraft departed from Nagurskoye Airport within the Franz-Josef Archipelago at 0820LT. The mission involved performing ice reconnaissance to facilitate the upcoming launch of the icebreaker 'Indigirka'. On board the aircraft were a crew of five and two hydrologists.
While operating at an altitude of approximately 150 meters, the aircraft encountered visibility conditions of less than one kilometer. During this phase of flight, the plane impacted the southwest slope of the Graham Bell Glacier. Following the initial impact, the aircraft traveled for roughly 750 meters before a final crash that resulted in a fire. The impact destroyed the aircraft, and there were seven fatalities among the occupants.
Findings
Investigations into the accident identified that the visibility at the time of the event was below established minima. A significant contributing factor was a failure to adhere to published procedures regarding cruising altitude during periods of limited visibility. Additionally, it was determined that a design flaw in the onboard weather radar prevented the equipment from detecting the mountain terrain ahead of the aircraft.