What happened
On the morning of the accident, an Antonov aircraft departed Almaty Airport at 05:15 local time, destined for Moscow with a scheduled stop in Balkash. The flight was transporting mail and various goods, along with a crew of five and one passenger. At the time of departure, the aircraft's total weight was recorded at 10,722 kilograms, which exceeded the maximum takeoff weight by 22 kilograms.
During the transit toward Balkash, the flight encountered adverse weather conditions characterized by cloud cover and low visibility. During this period, several cockpit instruments ceased to function correctly. As a result of these malfunctions, the pilot lost spatial orientation, leading to a loss of control. The aircraft entered a steep descent and struck the snow-covered terrain approximately 105 km southeast of Balkash Lake. The impact occurred at a high speed with a 65-degree nose-down attitude, causing the airframe to break apart and scatter debris across an area exceeding 200 meters. There were six fatalities and no survivors.
Findings
Investigations revealed that the primary technical failure was the malfunction of a vacuum regulator. This component failure led to the subsequent loss of function in both the gyrocompass and the autopilot system. While operating in night conditions with heavy cloud cover, the crew experienced spatial disorientation due to the degraded instrumentation, which ultimately prevented them from maintaining control of the aircraft.