What happened
A cargo operation traveling from Milkovo to Khalaktyrka resulted in a fatal accident when the aircraft struck the northern face of Mt Aag. The flight was transporting 46 bags of potatoes, weighing a total of 2,536 kilograms, with a crew of four on board. During the descent phase, the aircraft entered a cloud layer, which obscured the crew's visibility of the terrain.
While navigating through the clouds, the aircraft drifted from its intended flight path. At an altitude of 2,100 meters, the aircraft type (unspecified) impacted the north face of Mt Aag, a peak standing at 2,319 meters, located approximately 42 km north of the destination. The impact led to the destruction of the plane and caused four fatalities among the crew members.
Findings
Investigations into the crash revealed that environmental conditions played a significant role in the deviation from the assigned route. At the time of the accident, sustained winds of 60 km/h were present, which pushed the aircraft roughly 12° away from its prescribed trajectory. The presence of heavy cloud cover prevented the crew from identifying the mountain during their descent.
Additionally, the lack of adequate assistance from Air Traffic Control (ATC) was identified as a contributing factor to the navigational error and the subsequent collision.