What happened
On October 31, an aircraft departed Chita Airport as part of a repositioning flight destined for Minsk. The route included several scheduled stops at Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, and Kuybyshev. On board were five crew members and four passengers.
During the flight segment between Krasnoylar and Novosibirsk, the flight crew encountered deteriorating weather. In response to icing conditions, the crew requested permission from Air Traffic Control (ATC) to increase their altitude; however, this request was denied. While flying at an altitude of approximately 900 to 1,500 meters, the aircraft lost control and entered a steep dive. The plane subsequently crashed into a heavily forested region near Ribnoye, situated roughly 23 km east of Tamozhenka.
Search and rescue efforts were initially hampered by heavy snowfall and low cloud cover, preventing deployment until the following day. All search operations were halted on November 22 after no evidence of the aircraft or the 9 occupants was located. The wreckage was not discovered until May 29, 1963, during a renewed search effort that had begun in May of that year. Investigation of the site revealed that the aircraft struck the terrain at a steep nose-down angle of 70 to 80 degrees and broke apart upon impact. Evidence showed engines embedded three meters into the ground, with debris scattered across a 200-meter radius.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the crash was caused by excessive ice accumulation on the aircraft, which led to a loss of control in flight. Several contributing factors were identified, including the decision by the operator to assign a crew that lacked experience with such icing conditions. Additionally, investigators noted deficiencies in flight organization and a lack of coordination between the Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk air traffic control centers. The failure of ATC to authorize a climb above 2,700 meters—an altitude where weather conditions were more favorable—was also cited as a critical factor.