Accident
A single-engine aircraft departed Polotsk Airport at 1623LT on a flight to Chelyabinsk, carrying 12 passengers (mining workers) and a crew of two. Twelve minutes later, while cruising at an altitude of 300 meters in good weather conditions, the airplane went out of control and crashed in a steppe area 35 kilometers north of Polotsk. The aircraft was totally destroyed, and all 14 occupants were killed.
Investigation
Investigators determined that none of the 12 passengers were secured. Some passengers were standing in the rear compartment of the aircraft, an area prohibited to passengers and where the access door was required to be locked. Analysis revealed that all passengers were intoxicated at the time of the accident and were moving in the cabin without the consent of the crew.
Probable Cause
The official findings state that the passengers' unsecured and intoxicated condition, along with their unauthorized movement in a restricted compartment, likely modified the aircraft's center of gravity, causing it to become uncontrollable.