Flight Details
The aircraft departed Mineralnye Vody on a scheduled service to Ivanovo with an intermediate stop in Donetsk. Following an uneventful flight, the crew initiated the descent to Ivanovo-Yuzhny Airport. Night conditions and poor weather limited visibility.
Accident Sequence
On final approach, the aircraft was not properly aligned on the glide path. The copilot and navigator attempted to inform the captain about the deviation but did not succeed. The captain continued the approach in a wrong configuration. At a speed of 370 km/h and a rate of descent of 6 metres per second, the left wing struck a residential building. The aircraft then entered a nose-down attitude and crashed 512 metres further, approximately 2,450 metres short of runway 29. The impact caused the aircraft to burst into flames. The aircraft was totally destroyed, and all 84 occupants were killed.
Probable Cause and Contributing Factors
The official investigation determined that the accident was the consequence of a wrong approach configuration on the part of the crew. The captain ignored several alerts from the copilot and navigator and failed to initiate a go-around procedure despite the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) alarm sounding for about 10 seconds. Several contributing factors were reported: loss of altitude control in adverse weather conditions following a premature descent; failure of the crew to follow published approach procedures, resulting in insufficient altitude and excessive speed; the fourth turn was completed too late, causing a deviation of 1,900 metres to the right of the approach path at a distance of 8,600 metres from the runway threshold at an altitude of 500 metres; the captain decided to continue the approach when landing was obviously impossible; a total interruption of interactions within the crew during the approach, leaving the captain without assistance and leading to a loss of altitude control; the crew allowed the aircraft to exceed admissible vertical speed during final approach; failure to initiate a go-around despite the GPWS alarm; excessive corrective maneuvers by the captain caused a roll angle greater than permissible limits; and the violation of the approach pattern was facilitated by a lack of assistance from air traffic control at Ivanovo Airport.