What happened
During a nighttime departure from Almaty Airport, an aircraft entered a period of extreme meteorological instability while climbing through an altitude of approximately 120 to 150 meters. At the time of the incident, the plane was traveling at a speed of 355 km/h and encountered ambient temperatures ranging between +30 and +40° C.
The aircraft encountered significant wind shear, including powerful downdrafts and high winds. This caused the nose of the plane to pitch downward, leading to a rapid descent. The aircraft subsequently struck the ground at a speed of 400 km/h, roughly 3,996 meters beyond the runway terminus. The impact occurred at a farm, resulting in an explosion and subsequent wreckage dispersal across an area measuring 840 meters in length and 130 meters in width.
The accident resulted in 166 fatalities among those on board. Additionally, the crash caused injuries to nine individuals on the ground, three of whom sustained serious wounds.
Findings
Investigations concluded that the primary cause of the accident was the aircraft's encounter with an unpredictable and rare area of intense atmospheric turbulence, characterized by tailwinds reaching 20 meters per second (72 km/h) and downdrafts as strong as 14 meters per second (50 km/h).
Several contributing factors were identified during the investigation:
- The aircraft was operating at a total weight near its maximum limit for the prevailing conditions.
- The high altitude of the Almaty Airport location.
- Extremely high outside air temperatures.