What happened
On a night-time charter flight traveling from Bishkek to Zaragoza via Trabzon, an aircraft carrying 62 Spanish military personnel and 13 crew members crashed during its approach to the airport. The passengers, consisting of members from the Spanish Land Forces and Air Force, were returning to Spain after a peacekeeping deployment in Afghanistan.
As the aircraft descended toward Trabzon Airport, the crew encountered heavy fog that significantly reduced visibility. After being unable to identify the runway 29 approach lights, the crew performed a go-around. During a subsequent attempt to land, the aircraft struck a mountain at an altitude of 4,600 feet. The impact caused the aircraft to disintegrate, and there were 75 fatalities among the total occupants. The debris field was located approximately 3.5 km east of Maçka, roughly 23 km from the destination airport.
Findings
Investigations into the accident indicated that the crew was not following the prescribed approach pattern for runway 29 during the second landing attempt. This navigational error, combined with the poor visibility caused by fog, led to the fatal collision with terrain.