Incident
A three-engine aircraft on approach to Dushanbe Airport crashed into a mountain slope at an altitude of 2,840 meters, located 44 kilometers northwest of the airport. All 29 occupants were killed. The accident occurred while the aircraft was descending in clouds.
The flight had been circumnavigating a thunderstorm over mountainous terrain when it deviated 67 kilometers from its prescribed flight path. Neither the crew nor air traffic controllers (ATC) realized the deviation. At the time, the radio compass malfunctioned due to interference from the nearby thunderstorm, and the wind component differed from forecasts. The crew reported overflying the outer marker, but the aircraft was actually still 43 kilometers away from it.
Probable Cause
According to officials, the pilots were hampered in their actions by the lack of visibility caused by poor weather conditions, which remains a contributing factor. It is believed that the initial information provided by pilots to air traffic controllers was false and could have misled them. However, the assistance provided by air traffic controllers was insufficient, and they did not perform any fix point control that would have identified the aircraft's wrong position and allowed them to inform the crew accordingly.