Cargo Flight Fire Leads to Emergency Landing and One Fatality (CCCP-08823)

Incident Overview and Flight Details The aircraft departed Ulan-Ude at 0700 local time on a cargo flight destined for Ufa. The planned route included intermediate stops at Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Petropavl, Kurgan, and Chelyabinsk. The aircraft was carrying five crew members, three passengers, and a cargo load of 663 kg of various goods. ## In-Flight Emergency and Crash Landing Approximately 20 minutes after takeoff, while cruising at an altitude of 2,400 meters, a passenger reported a fire in the rear section of the cabin. Smoke quickly spread throughout the cabin and into the cockpit. The crew was unable to extinguish the fire, prompting the captain to reduce altitude and attempt an emergency landing in a prairie. The aircraft crash-landed and came to rest in flames in an open field located 4 km from the village of Kharat. ## Casualties and Aftermath All eight occupants managed to escape the burning aircraft, which was partially destroyed by the fire. However, a female passenger succumbed to her injuries 40 hours after the incident. ## Official Findings on Probable Cause The official investigation determined that the aircraft was carrying several wooden crates containing 20-liter bottles of flammable products, which were placed on a carpet of wood chips. The boxes had been used multiple times in the past but had not been cleaned, leaving the wood chips soaked with flammable products, possibly due to improperly sealed bottles. During flight, hot air pulsed into the cabin via the heating system, causing the wood chips to ignite. The resulting fire could not be extinguished by the crew.