What happened
During a nighttime arrival at Karaganda, the flight crew encountered challenging weather characterized by fog and low cloud ceilings. While performing the initial approach, the pilot was unable to identify the runway due to poor visibility, leading to a decision to execute a go-around.
During a subsequent attempt to land, the aircraft's airspeed decreased significantly below the required threshold. This loss of speed resulted in an aerodynamic stall, which caused the right wing to make contact with the ground. The aircraft subsequently lost control and impacted the terrain approximately 600 meters before reaching the runway threshold, landing 71 meters to the left of the centerline. The impact resulted in the destruction of the aircraft. Among the occupants, there was one fatality and eight injuries, while the remaining 20 individuals on board escaped without harm.
Findings
Investigations revealed that the crew chose to proceed with the landing attempt despite weather conditions being below established minimums. The presence of heavy fog and clouds as low as 50 meters above the ground created a hazardous environment. A primary contributing factor was that the pilot-in-command became fixated on locating the runway, which led to a lack of attention to the flight instruments. Consequently, the crew failed to detect that the approach speed had become insufficient during the final segment of the flight.