What happened
On a night flight departing from Frunze Airport, Kyrgyzstan, bound for Leninabad, Tajikistan, a Yak-40 was carrying three crew members and 18 passengers. After reaching an altitude of 5,700 meters under favorable weather conditions, the flight crew inadvertently drifted west of their intended route. During communications with Air Traffic Control (ATC), the crew reported passing over Namangan and Kokand, unaware that they had deviated from the authorized path.
At 21:21 local time, controllers in Leninabad authorized the aircraft to descend through 3,300 meters to 2,100 meters without verifying the plane's precise coordinates. While traveling at 500 km/h, the aircraft struck the side of Mt Airy Tash, which has an elevation of 2,300 meters, approximately 90 km northeast of Leninabad. The impact caused the aircraft to break apart, and all 21 fatalities were recorded.
Findings
Investigations into the accident identified several critical failures. The primary cause was a combination of inadequate flight planning, navigational errors, and incorrect in-flight decisions by the crew that led to controlled flight into terrain.
Contributing factors included:
- Inadequate oversight from ATC, which issued descent clearances over mountainous terrain without confirming the aircraft's actual position.
- Deficiencies in ATC capabilities, including insufficient navigation aid usage and poor radar coverage.
- The flight crew's limited experience with the Yak-40 type and a lack of proficiency in night-time instrument flight rules (IFR).
- The captain had a history of disciplinary actions regarding flight rule violations but had recently been permitted to operate passenger flights at night.