Flight Details
The aircraft departed Chita Airport on October 31 on a positioning flight to Minsk, with planned intermediate stops at Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, and Kuybyshev. The flight carried a crew of five and four passengers, comprising crew wives and children.
Accident Sequence
During the leg from Krasnoyarsk to Novosibirsk, weather conditions worsened. The crew elected to gain height due to icing conditions, but this request was denied by air traffic control. While cruising at an altitude between 900 and 1,500 meters, the airplane went out of control and entered a dive before crashing in flames in a dense wooded area near Ribnoye, approximately 23 km east of Tamozhenka.
Search and Recovery
Due to low clouds and snowfall, rescue teams could be dispatched only a day later. All search and rescue operations were suspended on November 22 as no trace of the aircraft nor the 9 occupants was found. Operations were restarted in May 1963, and the wreckage was eventually located on May 29, 1963. The aircraft struck the ground in a 70–80° nose-down attitude and disintegrated on impact. Debris was scattered 200 meters around the point of impact; the engines were found three meters deep into the earth, and a part of the right elevator was recovered 1 km from the main wreckage. The accident was not survivable.
Probable Cause
The official finding stated that the accident was the consequence of a loss of control in flight due to an excessive accumulation of ice on the aircraft. Contributing factors included: the operator's decision to dispatch a crew not familiar with such icing conditions, the inexperience of the crew, poor flight organization, lack of coordination between the Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk control centers, and lack of assistance from ATC, who did not authorize the crew to climb above 2,700 meters where weather conditions were more suitable.