What happened
On November 17, 2013, a Tatarstan Airlines flight, TAK 3D64, operated by a Boeing 737-500 with registration VQ-B, was performing a scheduled domestic passenger service from Kazan to Moscow Domodedovo. Prior to departure, the flight crew completed all required medical examinations and meteorological consultations at Kazan airport, with weather conditions deemed suitable for flight.
The aircraft departed Kazan at 11:22 and proceeded toward its destination without any reported issues from air traffic control. During the descent from 6,000 feet, the aircraft encountered turbulence. As the flight approached Domodedovo, the aircraft encountered severe wind conditions in the surface layer. Specifically, at the time of landing at 12:43, surface winds were reported at 240 degrees at 7 m/s with gusts up to 11 m/s, while winds at 100 meters reached 13 m/s.
The investigation
Records indicate that the crew performed the approach using autopilot, which was manually disconnected by the crew at a true altitude of approximately 80 meters. The investigation noted that at an altitude of 60 meters, the aircraft encountered wind shear and moderate turbulence in the surface layer. Despite these atmospheric disturbances, the landing was completed without any recorded deviations, mechanical failures, or malfunctions of the aircraft systems.