What happened
On the evening of the accident, an aircraft departed from Shaki Aerodrome carrying seven passengers. The flight initially proceeded northwest, following the path of a nearby mountain range. During the flight, the pilot performed a low-altitude pass over the city of Zaqatala before initiating a return trip to the departure airfield.
As the aircraft approached Shaki, the crew encountered difficult conditions characterized by poor visibility due to nighttime operations. The pilot attempted several landing maneuvers but was unable to identify the runway location. During these attempts, the aircraft impacted the ground roughly 800 meters from the airfield. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the plane and eight fatalities.
Findings
Investigations into the crash determined that the pilot was operating the aircraft while severely intoxicated by alcohol. It was also noted that the passengers were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the flight.