Accident Details
Following an uneventful flight from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the crew began a descent to Palana Airport Runway 11 from the south. In marginal weather conditions, the twin-engine aircraft descended too low, impacted trees, and crashed in a wooded area on Mt. Pyatibratka. The wreckage was found at an elevation of 216 meters, approximately 10 km south of the airport. Both pilots and eight passengers were killed; four other passengers were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces.
Probable Cause and Contributing Factors
The official investigation determined that the fatal accident involving An-28 RA-28715 was caused by a violation of the specified approach pattern at Palana Airport, which resulted in an outbound track and premature descent to an unauthorized low altitude, followed by flight in mountainous terrain under weather conditions that precluded sustained visual reference with ground references. This led to the aircraft's collision with the mountain slope, its destruction, and the fatalities of crew and passengers. Alcohol was detected in the blood of both crew members.
Contributing factors identified were: a low level of discipline among personnel at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Enterprise and inadequate flight methodical work in the areas of crew preflight training and approach pattern monitoring; crew inaction when the radio altimeter altitude alert was actuated; and the absence of a ground proximity warning system on the An-28, which could probably have prevented the accident.