Incident Overview
On an approach to Zeya Airport, a three-engine airplane operating as flight SU674 from Irkutsk to Blagoveshchensk with intermediate stops in Chita and Zeya encountered marginal weather conditions with visibility less than 2 kilometers. While on final approach, the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) activated as the aircraft descended below the minimum descent altitude. Despite the warning, the pilot-in-command elected to continue the approach.
The airplane subsequently struck trees and crashed in a wooded area located 350 meters short of the runway threshold and 125 meters to the right of the extended centerline. The impact caused the aircraft to burst into flames. Of the occupants, two crew members and one passenger were killed, 26 others sustained injuries, and five passengers escaped uninjured.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the crew decided to continue the approach after passing the minimum descent altitude in below-minimum visibility conditions. They failed to respond to the GPWS warning and did not initiate a go-around despite lacking visual contact with the ground and runway. Contributing factors included weather conditions worse than those forecast in the bulletin transmitted to the crew and the presence of local fog patches in the final segment of the approach path.