What happened
During a flight from Omsk to Moscow, an aircraft cruising at 11,000 meters was notified by air traffic control that the path to Vnukovko was unavailable due to worsening weather conditions. The crew received instructions to divert to Sverdlovsk and descend to an altitude of 10,000 meters.
Shortly after receiving these instructions, the pilot issued a mayday distress signal, indicating that the aircraft had entered a dive and that control was being lost. The plane subsequently struck a field near a railway line in the vicinity of Kanash at an 80-degree angle. The impact caused the total disintegration of the airframe.
There were 80 fatalities in the accident, with no survivors reported among the passengers or crew. The passenger manifest included several international citizens from nations including Sudan, Cambodia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Morocco, the United Kingdom, France, Iraq, and Laos.
Findings
Investigations concluded that the loss of control was triggered by extreme atmospheric turbulence, including intense updrafts and downdrafts encountered at high altitude during the flight's rerouting and descent. These conditions caused the aircraft to reach a critical angle of attack, leading directly into the terminal dive.