What happened
During a flight from Irkutly to Chita, an unidentified individual entered the cockpit and demanded that the crew redirect the aircraft toward China. During the ensuing confrontation, members of the militia engaged with the hijacker. The situation escalated when a militia officer shot the hijacker; however, before the perpetrator expired, he triggered a device connected to several grenades secured to his waist.
The resulting massive detonation caused the structural failure and disintegration of the aircraft while it was at cruising altitude. Following the explosion, the plane entered a steep descent from approximately 6,500 meters. The wreckage eventually impacted the taiga forest located roughly 97 km west of Chita. Search efforts recovered debris across an expansive area, but there were no survivors among the 81 occupants.
Findings
Investigations conducted by Soviet authorities indicated that the hijacker suffered from a mental imbalance. The motive for the attack was linked to the individual's resentment following a rejected application for a position within the diplomatic corps.