What happened
On the early morning of the accident, an Airbus A321 departed from Moscow-Chkhalostvsky Air Base, destined for Hmeimin Air Base in Syria. The flight, which carried 84 passengers and 8 crew members, included a large group of performers from the Alexandrov Choir, along with journalists and military officials. After a scheduled refueling stop at Sochi-Adler Airport, the aircraft departed from runway 24 at 05:25LT.
During the initial climb, the pilot rotated the aircraft at a speed of 300 km/h. Approximately 53 seconds into the ascent, while the aircraft was at an altitude of 231 metres, the captain requested the retraction of the flaps. Following this, erroneous movements on the control column caused the aircraft to pitch downward. As the descent accelerated, the aircraft reached a speed of 540 km/h and entered a 50-degree left bank.
The aircraft struck the sea approximately 1,270 metres from the shore at 05:25:49LT. The impact occurred only 73 seconds after liftoff. The wreckage was located 340 metres left of the runway centerline at a depth of 30 metres. The crash resulted in 92 fatalities, representing the entire occupancy of the flight.
Findings
Investigation of the flight path indicates that the aircraft's descent was characterized by a rapid increase in speed and a significant roll angle following improper control inputs during the climb phase.