What happened
On a scheduled flight from Yekaterinburg to Vladivostok, the Boeing 747 (flight XF352) was performing an intermediate stop at Irkutsk International Airport. After climbing to a cruising altitude of 10,100 metres, the crew began their descent at 01:50LT. By 02:05LT, the aircraft had descended to 2,100 metres, with the runway visible and a speed of 540 km/h.
As the aircraft leveled off at 900 metres, the airspeed had decreased to 420 km/h. Following a request from the first officer, the landing gear was deployed, which slowed the aircraft to 395 km/h. During this process, the plane entered a left bank of approximately 20-23°. As the speed dropped to 365 km/h—below the recommended 370 km/h—the aircraft's altitude fell to 850 metres. The autopilot attempted to compensate for the loss of speed by increasing the angle of attack to 16.5°, triggering an aural warning.
In an attempt to correct the situation, the first officer disconnected the autopilot and moved the control column to the left. This action increased the bank angle significantly, reaching between -30° and -48°. The aircraft then entered clouds, causing the crew to lose visual reference to the ground and the horizon. During the subsequent confusion, the captain took control but applied alternating left and right steering inputs. A sharp rightward deflection caused a high angular acceleration. As the aircraft entered a steep descent at 20 metres per second, a crew member pulled the control column, causing the plane to pitch up rapidly. This led to a stall and a flat spin, ending in a crash in an open field 24 seconds later. The impact and subsequent fire resulted in 145 fatalities.
Findings
- The aircraft was operating below the recommended airspeed during the landing gear deployment phase.
- Erratic and conflicting control inputs by the flight crew during instrument meteorological conditions contributed to the loss of control.
- The transition from a high angle of attack to a stall and flat spin was precipitated by rapid changes in bank angle and pitch.