Single-Engine Aircraft Crash Near Kharat (CCCP-32323)

Flight Details and Loss of Contact A single-engine aircraft departed Irkutsk-Magan Airport at 1236 local time on a flight to Onguren, with an intermediate stop scheduled at Kharantsy. At 1303 local time, the crew reported its position to ground control, stating it was flying at an altitude of 1,500 meters. Four minutes later, while cruising in marginal weather conditions, the aircraft pitched down and crashed in a nose-down attitude of 75 degrees into a wooded area located 15 kilometers east of the village of Kharat. ## Search and Recovery Radio contact with the aircraft was lost, and it failed to arrive at its destination, prompting the initiation of search and rescue operations. The wreckage was discovered a week later, on September 8, in a hilly and wooded area at an altitude of 785 meters. The aircraft was completely destroyed, and all 13 occupants were killed. ## Investigation Findings The official investigation concluded that the exact cause of the accident could not be determined. No technical anomalies were found with the aircraft. The investigation indicated that the aircraft most probably lost height after being caught by downdrafts coming from a cumulonimbus cloud.