What happened
During a nighttime positioning flight departing from Ust'-Maya toward Yakutsk, an aircraft experienced a critical mechanical failure during its initial climb. Shortly after leaving the runway, the right propeller began producing negative thrust due to a technical malfunction. This loss of balanced power occurred while the aircraft was operating with a center of gravity that was positioned too far forward, outside of the permitted operational limits.
Because the flight was in a low-altitude phase immediately following takeoff, the crew could not successfully compensate for the asymmetric thrust. The aircraft drifted off course and impacted a forested area located approximately 310 metres to the right of the runway centerline and 1,350 metres beyond the runway threshold. The accident resulted in 5 fatalities among the crew.
Findings
Investigations into the crash identified that the primary issue was the development of negative thrust from the right propeller during the climb phase. This malfunction, combined with an improper weight and balance configuration where the center of gravity was too far forward, prevented the crew from maintaining control of the aircraft at low altitude.