What happened
A charter flight, intended to transport the Lokomoli Yaroslavl ice hockey team to Minsk for the start of the Russian championship, crashed shortly after departing from runway 23 at Yaroslavl-Tunoshna Airport. During the takeoff roll, the crew configured the Yak-42 with 20° flaps and a nose-up stabilizer position of 8.7°. However, the aircraft's acceleration was hindered by continuous pressure applied to the brake pedal.
As the aircraft reached 185 km/h, approximately 1,350 meters from the end of the runway, the nose gear lifted. The plane failed to rotate properly and overran the runway, traveling roughly 400 meters beyond the threshold before becoming airborne. During this transition, the aircraft struck approach lights and a localizer antenna. This sequence caused a loss of altitude, leading to a crash on the banks of the Volga River. The impact triggered a massive fire approximately two minutes after the takeoff roll began. Of the occupants on board, 44 fatalities were recorded, with one passenger and the flight engineer initially surviving with serious injuries; the passenger later succumbed to his wounds.
Findings
The investigation determined that the primary cause was improper crew actions, specifically the application of brake pressure during the takeoff run due to incorrect foot placement on the pedal. This braking force prevented the aircraft from reaching necessary speeds and caused a nose-down moment that disrupted the intended rotation. When the aircraft finally lifted off past the runway end, the elevator deflection caused an excessive pitch-up rate, leading to a stall at a low altitude.
Several contributing factors were identified, including:
- Inadequate and poorly supervised retraining for the Yak-42 type.
- A negative transfer of skills from the crew's previous experience with the Yak-40.
- Procedural errors and omissions during takeoff preparation.
- Uncoordinated and inconsistent actions by the crew during the final stages of the takeoff roll.