What happened
During the initial climb phase following takeoff, the aircraft reached an altitude of approximately 5 meters when the crew began retracting the landing gear. At this moment, a critical malfunction occurred involving all three engines, which experienced a simultaneous power reduction of 70%.
In response to the sudden loss of thrust, the captain initiated an emergency procedure to return to the runway. The aircraft was unable to maintain sufficient altitude and performed a belly landing on the airfield. During the sequence, the plane overran the runway and struck several pieces of approach lighting equipment and other ground infrastructure. The impact caused the aircraft to catch fire.
Despite the intensity of the fire, all 32 occupants were successfully evacuated from the cabin. While there were no fatalities reported among the passengers or crew, the aircraft was completely destroyed during the accident.
Findings
Investigators were unable to establish a definitive reason for the sudden 70% drop in power across all three engines. However, official reports noted that improper manipulation by the flight engineer remained a possible contributing factor to the engine failure.