What happened
The flight departed from Kazan Airport at 22:50 local time, originally scheduled to land at Sverdlovsk-Koltsovo Airport. While initial weather conditions were favorable, the aircraft subsequently encountered light snow, clouds, and icing. In response to these conditions, the crew requested a lower altitude and descended to 1,800 meters.
During the flight, the radio operator made multiple unsuccessful attempts to establish contact with air traffic control at Koltsovo. The crew was unable to determine their exact position because of low visibility and a failure of the radiocompas. Facing imminent fuel exhaustion, the captain initiated an emergency belly landing. The aircraft struck trees and crashed in a prairie approximately 70 km west of Sverdlovsk, resulting in the aircraft being destroyed. Of the 10 occupants, all sustained injuries; one crew member, the copilot, died from his wounds the following day.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the primary cause was the crew's loss of orientation, which led to an emergency landing attempt as fuel ran out. Several contributing factors were identified:
- The weather forecast provided before departure did not report the severe icing conditions encountered during the flight.
- A communication antenna and the radiocompas failed, likely due to ice accumulation.
- The crew failed to follow standard navigation procedures, specifically regarding heading calculations and monitoring ADF values.
- Air traffic control permitted a climb to 3,000 meters despite the presence of severe icing.
- The crew was experiencing fatigue following nearly 14 hours of continuous duty.
- The flight operated with a reduced crew because the copilot had been denied boarding prior to departure due to intoxication.