What happened
During an approach to Chersky Airport, the flight crew encountered challenging weather characterized by significantly reduced visibility. The aircraft underwent three separate unsuccessful landing attempts, necessitating a go-around during each instance. During the fourth attempt to land, the aircraft descended too low and struck the surface of the icy Kolyma River, approximately 3.5 km from the runway threshold.
The impact resulted in injuries to all occupants, which included 5 crew members and an unspecified number of passengers. The aircraft sustained damage that rendered it a total loss.
Findings
Investigations into the accident determined that the crew attempted to conduct a visual approach while operating under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) conditions. Several contributing elements were identified, including inadequate coordination among the crew members, specifically noting a lack of support from the navigator and co-pilot for the captain. Additional factors included the failure to secure seat belts and insufficient proficiency demonstrated by the captain when navigating through adverse weather environments.