Accident Narrative
A crop-spraying positioning flight in North Kazakhstan turned tragic when the aircraft collided with a tree, stalled, and was consumed by fire. The pilot had become disoriented while flying between the villages of Taiynsha and Sorochinskiy and landed on a small field near the village of Sarybulak to establish his position. After taking off with a slight tail wind, at a height of 15 metres, the pilot-in-command initiated a left turn. During the turn, the left lower wing struck a tree. The aircraft stalled and crashed, bursting into flames. Both pilots were killed, while the engineer was seriously injured. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post-crash fire.
Official Findings
The investigation identified the following findings as probable cause: takeoff from a limited area; failure to take into account obstacles by the crew during takeoff; incorrect selection of the take-off site; high outside air temperature and tailwind component.