What happened
Following its departure from Sukhumi Airport, the aircraft was proceeding southeast toward Kutaisi at an altitude of approximately 1,200 meters. During the flight, the crew encountered deteriorating weather conditions, with cloud bases dropping to between 600 and 1,000 meters. Due to a navigation error, the aircraft drifted 17 km north of its intended path.
The plane eventually struck trees on the northern slope of Mt Rech, which has an elevation of 1,436 meters, near the area of Tkvarcheli. The impact and subsequent fire completely destroyed the aircraft. All 31 fatalities were recorded among the occupants. Search teams located the wreckage one day after the accident.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the primary cause was a navigational mistake by the crew that led to the significant lateral deviation from the flight path. Several contributing factors were identified:
- The crew had been assigned a complex route only one day prior to the incident.
- The operator failed to provide a navigator or mechanic to assist with the difficult routing.
- Inadequate flight preparation and an inaccurate assessment of weather conditions.
- A failure by the crew to establish position fixes after leaving Sukhumi.
- Lack of radio monitoring from services at Sukhumi.
- Meteorological services did not adequately warn the pilots regarding wind components or weather along the route.
- Air Traffic Control (ATC) deficiencies, specifically that the controller managing the flight was an unauthorized trainee. This resulted in a 20-minute period where the crew received no communication regarding their position or path.