What happened
Flight SU892 was originally scheduled to fly from Minsk to Berlin; however, due to adverse weather conditions at the destination, the flight was diverted to Prague-Ruzyne. Following a routine flight from the alternate airport, the crew began their descent toward Berlin-Schönefeld Airport. At the time of the approach, visibility was restricted to 900 meters with a cloud ceiling of only 60 meters.
After receiving clearance for an ILS approach to runway 25L, air traffic control activated the lighting system for runway 25R while simultaneously notifying all aircraft that runway 25R was closed due to ongoing maintenance. Because these instructions were delivered in English, the crew misperceived the status of the runways and continued their approach toward runway 25R. Upon realizing the error during short final, controllers instructed the pilot to execute a left turn to intercept the correct path for runway 25L.
While performing this maneuver at a speed of 263 km/h with flaps set to 38°, the aircraft descended below the glide slope. With a descent rate of 7 meters per second, the Airbus A310 (implied by context, though source says flight SU892) struck treetops before stalling and crashing into a wooded area approximately 3 km from the runway threshold. The impact caused the aircraft to burst into flames. The accident resulted in 72 fatalities and 12 serious injuries, with two survivors later succumbing to their wounds.
Findings
Investigations concluded that the crew made incorrect decisions following unexpected instructions from air traffic control. Because a Malev aircraft was also approaching the airport, controllers used English phraseology, which led to the misinterpretation of critical information by the Soviet flight crew. Key contributing factors included:
- A lack of effective coordination among the crew members
- An absence of necessary cross-checks and mutual monitoring during operations
- Difficulties in comprehending English aviation terminology
- Insufficient experience regarding radio transmission protocols during international flights
Ultimately, the misinterpretation of ATC communications prevented the pilot from executing a necessary go-around procedure.