Background
On the day of the accident, an aircraft (registration CCCP-65816) departed Voronezh Airport at 1254 local time. It was operating the final leg of a flight from Chelyabinsk to Kishinev, Moldavia, with 88 passengers and a crew of six. At 1317, the aircraft entered the Kharkiv Air Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) at an altitude of 8,400 meters. The flight crew requested permission to climb to 9,600 meters on multiple occasions, but the request was denied due to heavy traffic.
Eight minutes later, a second Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134AK (registration CCCP-65735) entered the same ARTCC. This aircraft was completing flight SU7880 from Tashkent to Minsk with an intermediate stop in Donetsk. On board were 77 passengers and a crew of seven, including all members of the Pakhtakor Tashkent Football Team, who were scheduled to play against Dynamo Minsk in two days. Initially cleared to climb to 7,200 meters, the crew was later cleared to 8,400 meters.
Collision
The air traffic controller miscalculated the distance and timing between the two aircraft. Approximately 90 seconds after the second aircraft reached 8,400 meters, the two airplanes collided at an angle of 95 degrees on crossing airways. The right wing of CCCP-65735 struck the cockpit of CCCP-65816. Both aircraft partially disintegrated in mid-air and spiraled to the ground, crashing in fields near the villages of Kurilovka, Nikolaevka, and Elizavetovka, about 35 kilometers northwest of Dnipropetrovsk. Debris was scattered over a large area. None of the 178 occupants survived.
Probable Cause
According to the official investigation, the in-flight collision was the consequence of multiple errors on part of the Air Traffic Controller and his instructor in charge of the Kharkiv Southwest Sector. The following factors were reported: Violations of the published procedures, Poor assistance and negligence on part of ATC in level assignment, Non compliance with requirements and regulations in force on part of ATC, Non compliance with standard radio phraseology, Lack of coordination, Intense traffic, Stress situation.