What happened
On the final leg of a journey from Tashkent to Minsk, an aircraft departed Donetsk Airport at 13:11 local time. This flight was transporting members of the Pakhtakor Tashkent football team along with other passengers and crew.
Shortly after, at 13:17 local time, another Tupolev Tu-134, registered CCCP-65816, entered the Kharkiv ARTCC airspace while cruising at 8,400 meters. This aircraft was operating flight SU7628 from Chelyabinsk to Kishinev via Voronezh with 88 passengers and a crew of six. Although the crew requested an increase in altitude to 9,600 meters, the request was refused by air traffic control due to high traffic density.
Eight minutes later, a third aircraft, CCCP-65735, entered the same controlled airspace at 5,700 meters. The crew of this aircraft was initially cleared to climb to 7,200 meters and subsequently to 8,400 meters. Approximately 90 seconds following these instructions, the two planes collided at an altitude of 8,400 meters while crossing airways at a 95-degree angle. The right wing of CCCP-65735 impacted the cockpit of CCCP-65816.
Both aircraft entered a spiral descent and broke apart mid-air before crashing into fields near the villages of Kurilovka, Nikolaev and Elizavetovka, roughly 35 km northwest of Dnipropetrovsk. The accident resulted in 178 fatalities, with no survivors among the passengers or crew.
Findings
Investigations determined that the collision was caused by errors made by the air traffic controller and their instructor within the Kharkiv Southwest Sector. Contributing factors included:
- Failure to follow established procedures
- Negligence regarding altitude assignments
- Non-compliance with active aviation regulations
- Improper use of standard radio phraseology
- Inadequate coordination between personnel
- High traffic volume and significant operational stress