What happened
A cargo operation traveling from Peeks to Magadan, with planned stops at Zyrianka and Seymchan, resulted in a fatal accident. The aircraft was transporting 800 kilograms of reindeer skins at the time of the incident. During the flight, heavy winds caused the plane to drift away from its intended flight path, a deviation that went unnoticed by both the flight crew and air traffic control.
As the aircraft approached a mountainous region under adverse weather conditions, it encountered significant downdrafts. This led to a rapid loss of altitude, dropping from 2,400 meters to 1,820 meters in a very short period. The plane subsequently struck the slope of Mt Tuonnyakh. Search teams located the wreckage approximately 53 km northwest of Seymchan four days after the event. The accident resulted in four fatalities, as all crew members on board perished.
Findings
The investigation identified several contributing factors to the crash. It was determined that the crew did not adhere to established navigation protocols and failed to maintain consistent communication with air traffic control. Additionally, the controllers failed to provide adequate assistance to the flight. A critical factor was that the wind-related information provided to the crew was inaccurate, which prevented them from properly reacting to the changing weather conditions.