What happened
A flight departing from Irkutsk-Magan Airport toward Onguren, intended to include a stop at Kharantsy, ended in a fatal accident. The aircraft departed at 12:36 local time. During the flight, at 13:03 local time, the crew reported their position while maintaining an altitude of 1,500 meters.
Four minutes after this communication, while operating in poor weather conditions, the aircraft type experienced a sudden pitch-down. The plane descended at a 75-degree nose-down angle and struck a forested region approximately 15 km east of Kharat village. Following the loss of radio contact and the failure of the flight to reach its scheduled stop, search and rescue operations were launched.
The wreckage was not located until September 8, one week after the incident, in a hilly, wooded area at an elevation of 785 meters. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the plane and 13 fatalities.
Findings
Investigators were unable to establish a definitive cause for the accident. However, it is believed that the aircraft likely lost altitude after encountering downdrafts from a cumulonimbus cloud.