What happened
A training mission traveling from Kuybyshev to Ulyanovsk resulted in a fatal accident when the aircraft lost stability during the final stages of flight. The flight was being conducted with a large group on board, including five instructors, eight student pilots, and four staff members from the Voronezh aircraft plant.
As the pilot initiated the approach to the runway, the deployment of flaps to a 40-degree setting triggered an aerodynamic instability. At an altitude between 120 and 150 meters, the aircraft type experienced a stall. The plane subsequently crashed into a field, coming to rest approximately 1,240 meters before reaching the runway threshold. The impact resulted in the destruction of the airframe and 17 fatalities, with no survivors among the occupants.
Findings
Investigations into the accident determined that the flight was being conducted within icing conditions and cloud cover. It is believed that ice accumulation on critical control surfaces, specifically the elevators and stabilizers, compromised the aircraft's handling. The interaction between these frozen surfaces and the configuration change of extending the flaps to 40 degrees led to the loss of control. Because the stall occurred at such a low altitude, there was insufficient time or height for the crew to recover the aircraft.