Investigation Summary
The accident flight was a ferry mission following a technical delay the previous day caused by a cockpit heater malfunction. During the return leg to Moscow, the aircraft experienced significant technical issues. As the Tu-204 descended through 5,400 meters, the autopilot's course mode disconnected due to a radio altimeter failure. By 4,200 meters, the flight control computer failed entirely, removing flight director bars from the displays. The crew did not report these failures to ATC and attempted to navigate manually in near-zero visibility. The captain, who was only certified for a 60-meter vertical visibility minimum, falsely claimed to ATC he was certified for 30 meters. Investigators found that the crew likely relied on a portable GPS device for horizontal positioning while neglecting vertical monitoring. The aircraft struck trees while the pilots were still questioning ATC about their horizontal alignment, unaware they had descended into the forest canopy.
Final Conclusions
The Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) concluded the accident was a Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) caused by the crew's failure to execute a go-around despite lacking visual contact with the ground below weather minima. Contributing factors included the failure of the autoflight systems (likely due to unstable radio altimeters), poor Crew Resource Management (CRM), and insufficient training for adverse weather operations. The MAK also noted the captain's failure to divert to an alternate airport despite the deteriorating conditions and technical malfunctions.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
The same Tu-204 almost crashed twice: on January 14, 2002 and March 22, 2010 — A look at the history of airframe RA-64011, which survived a dual-engine flameout and runway overrun in 2002 before its final hull loss in the 2010 Domodedovo crash.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Sentenced to one-year suspended prison term; certified for 60m visibility but claimed 30m.
First Officer
Sentenced to one-year suspended prison term.
Systems & Failure Modes
Autopilot / Flight Control Computer
The system failed during descent, removing flight director guidance and increasing crew workload during a critical phase in poor visibility.
Radio Altimeter
Unstable readings at high altitudes triggered the initial autopilot disconnect and contributed to the flight computer failure.
Instrument Landing System (ILS)
The crew failed to properly tune the ILS frequency, leading the captain to misinterpret a centered (inactive) needle as being on the glideslope.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was carrying 9 tons of fuel at the time of impact, and both engines were operating normally.
- 02The captain had been disciplined two months prior for accidentally operating spoilers during an approach.
- 03This was the first hull loss of a Tupolev Tu-204 aircraft.
- 04The same airframe (RA-64011) had previously survived a dual-engine flameout and glided landing in Omsk on January 14, 2002, while operating as Siberia Airlines Flight 852.
- 05Both pilots were later sentenced to one-year suspended prison terms for safety violations.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Airline Passenger Ban
Immediately following the accident, Rosaviatsia banned Aviastar-TU from carrying passengers pending a full investigation into its flight operations.