What happened
During a nighttime approach toward Kiev-Zhuliany Airport, an aircraft impacted the ground at approximately 420 km/h. The impact occurred while the flight crew was performing a fourth turn intended to align with the approach path. At the moment of contact, the landing gear and flaps were in the retracted position. The collision triggered a massive explosion in a field situated roughly 16 km west of the airfield. The accident resulted in 29 fatalities, with no survivors reported among the occupants.
Findings
Investigations into the crash identified several critical errors regarding flight parameters and crew performance. A primary factor was that the crew proceeded with the night approach without correctly configuring settings related to atmospheric pressure. Specifically, the airfield pressure on the captain's instrument (2077) had not been properly established, nor had the pressure settings on the altimeters.
Furthermore, the flight crew failed to follow the designated approach procedure and did not adhere to air traffic control instructions. Although controllers issued two separate commands to reduce the aircraft's approach speed, these instructions were ignored. The final turn required for the approach was also initiated significantly late, only occurring after the crew received a direct reminder from air traffic control.