Investigation Summary
The flight from Sukhumi was uneventful until the descent into Leningrad. At 12:45 Moscow time, the crew began their descent from 33,100 feet. As they approached the airport, weather conditions deteriorated significantly with heavy rain and cumulonimbus clouds, information that was reportedly not relayed to the crew. At 13:05, while at an altitude of approximately 660 feet, the aircraft's descent rate increased to 7.5 m/s, causing it to fall below the glideslope. During this critical phase, a violation of procedure occurred on the ground as air traffic controllers were in the process of being replaced. Although the crew noticed the deviation and increased engine power to climb, the approach remained unstable. The descent rate reached 7 m/s again in the final seconds. The crew attempted to arrest the sink rate at an altitude of 66 feet, but the aircraft impacted the ground 13 meters short of the runway in a 1 degree nose-down attitude, experiencing a 4.5g vertical load.
Final Conclusions
The accident was caused by a destabilized approach resulting from uncoordinated crew actions and a wrong approach configuration. Contributing factors included the crew's failure to execute a go-around when the approach became unstable, a lack of assistance from the approach controller during the final stages, and the failure to communicate deteriorating weather conditions to the cockpit. The aircraft's landing gear collapsed upon impact, leading to the structural failure of the fuselage.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Systems & Failure Modes
Glideslope / ILS
The instrument landing system provided vertical guidance, which the crew failed to maintain, leading to a significant vertical deviation.
Landing Gear
The landing gear collapsed immediately upon the 4.5g impact short of the runway, contributing to the breakup of the fuselage.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft struck the ground in a 1 degree nose-down attitude.
- 02The fuselage broke into three distinct pieces upon impact.
- 03Air traffic controllers were being replaced during the final approach, violating standard procedure.
- 04Flaps were deployed to 45 degrees at a distance of 7 km from the runway at a speed of 287 km/h.
- 05The aircraft came to rest 80 meters to the left of the runway.
- 06Impact occurred with a vertical acceleration of 4.5g.
- 07The aircraft speed at impact was 250 km/h.
- 08Thirty-eight occupants sustained injuries in the crash.
- 09The aircraft was manufactured in 1975 with serial number (MSN) 75A097.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Go-around Policy Reinforcement
The investigation emphasized that the accident could have been avoided if the crew had initiated a go-around procedure immediately upon recognizing the unstable approach.