What happened
On a scheduled flight leg traveling from Odessa to Kazan, the aircraft departed Kiev-Borispol Airport at 23:21 local time. While the flight was maintaining a cruising altitude of 9,000 meters and a speed of 530 km/h under night conditions, the flaps unexpectedly extended to a 30° angle. This mechanical change caused the Tupolev Tu-124 to enter a spin. As the aircraft descended to approximately 4,000 meters, it suffered partial structural disintegration before impacting a field in the vicinity of Kirsanov. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the airframe and a wide distribution of debris across the site. There were 63 fatalities and no survivors among the occupants.
Findings
Investigations into the accident focused on why the flaps deployed while the autopilot was active during normal cruise. Investigators could not definitively conclude whether the deployment was triggered by an electrical malfunction or manual intervention. However, the analysis suggested that the unintentional movement of the left pilot's flap control switch to the 'down' position was a highly probable factor. The investigation noted that the design and placement of the ZPPM-45 switch on the left side could allow for accidental activation. Following this event, a single-use inspection of similar switching mechanisms was conducted on 16 other Tupolev Tu-124 aircraft to assess potential risks.