What happened
On the morning of the accident, an aircraft departed from Aralsk Airport at 09:52 local time to perform a mission focused on monitoring ice conditions over the Aral Sea. During the cruise phase of the flight, which was initially conducted at an altitude of 800 meters, the aircraft entered a cloud layer. In an attempt to keep the sea surface in visual range, the pilot lowered the flight altitude.
As the aircraft descended to 400 meters, it encountered another layer of fog. The crew performed a further descent to maintain visibility, which ultimately led to the aircraft striking the ground. Following the initial impact, the plane bounced and traveled an additional 226 meters before coming to a final stop. The accident resulted in three fatalities (one crew member and two passengers) and left seven others injured. The aircraft was completely destroyed during the event.
Findings
Investigations into the crash concluded that the flight crew attempted to operate under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) while flying in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). This decision to continue the mission despite the lack of visibility led to the controlled flight into terrain. Additionally, the lack of proper organization for this specific reconnaissance mission was identified as a contributing factor to the accident.