What happened
During a routine flight originating from Kotlas, the crew began their descent toward Arkhangelsk-Talagi Airport. While performing the approach at an altitude of approximately 600 meters, air traffic control instructed the crew to accelerate the completion of their final and third turns. In response to this instruction, the crew performed hurried maneuvers.
During this phase, the captain directed the flight engineer to reduce power across all three engines to idle. However, as the aircraft reached an altitude of 580 meters, the flight engineer inadvertently moved the power control levers to the stop position, resulting in the shutdown of all three engines. The pilot attempted to initiate an engine restart, but the low approach speed prevented a successful recovery.
In an effort to manage the emergency, the captain directed the aircraft toward an emergency landing on a nearby road. During the touchdown, the plane struck a support structure for a power transmission tower before coming to a halt. The incident resulted in 23 injuries among the 27 occupants, though all individuals were successfully rescued.
Findings
Investigation into the accident identified that the primary cause was the erroneous actions of the flight engineer, who placed the engine power levers in the stop position rather than the intended idle setting. Additionally, a lack of effective control by both the pilot and co-pilot during the high-pressure descent was noted as a contributing factor to the sequence of events.