What happened
During a nighttime arrival at Inigok Airstrip, a four-engine airplane was performing its final approach when it collided with an obstacle. The impact caused the aircraft to undershoot the runway and subsequently crash, resulting in a fire. Despite the intensity of the wreckage, all 15 occupants managed to evacuate the plane without life-threatening harm, sustaining only minor injuries. The aircraft itself sustained damage that rendered it a total loss.
Findings
Investigations into the accident determined that the crew miscalculated both their altitude and their distance from the landing site. Specifically, the pilot-in-command did not recognize that the aircraft was too low during the approach phase. Several contributing elements were identified in the official report:
- A lack of sufficient oversight by the captain regarding the flight progress
- The failure to execute a go-around maneuver when the situation became critical
- Inadequate planning of the approach procedure
- Issues related to overload failure