What happened
On a flight originating from Dnepropetrovskoye, located in the Tselinograd suburb, a single-engine aircraft departed at 21:15 local time. The mission was a short-distance transit to a nearby airport situated approximately 12 km away, following the completion of agricultural spraying operations for a local sovkhoz.
While maintaining a speed of 220 km/h at a low altitude, the aircraft entered a left bank at an angle of 25 degrees. This maneuver was followed by a sudden nose-down pitch, leading the plane to impact an open field roughly 3.5 km from its departure point. The impact caused the aircraft to burst into flames. There were three fatalities among the occupants of the aircraft.
Findings
Investigations concluded that the crash was triggered by unpredictable turbulence and downdrafts stemming from an approaching thunderstorm in the vicinity of the flight path. Additionally, investigators noted that inadequate flight preparation served as a contributing factor to the accident.