Investigation Summary
The flight was operating in challenging meteorological conditions with horizontal visibility of 200 meters and vertical visibility of only 40 meters, which was below the crew's certified landing minimums. As the aircraft reached an altitude of 180 meters on short final, the captain initiated a go-around, deactivating the autopilot and engaging TO/GA mode. Four seconds into the maneuver, while transitioning from the approach to the missed approach segment, the elevator was deflected to a nose-down position. The aircraft reached a pitch angle of -16 degrees and a descent rate of 20 to 30 meters per second. Despite EGPWS alerts sounding in the cockpit, the crew did not respond or recover the aircraft. Post-accident medical examinations revealed the captain suffered from coronary artery disease and had recently undergone surgery without a proper rehabilitation period or health assessment. The IAC noted that the captain might have collapsed onto the control column, while the first officer was distracted by external communications and failed to intervene in the flight path deviation.
Final Conclusions
The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) released its final report on March 2, 2015. The investigation concluded that the crash was caused by a nose-down elevator deflection during a go-around in instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing factors included the partial loss of performance or incapacitation of the pilot in command, poor Crew Resource Management (CRM), a lack of response to EGPWS warnings, and the potential for somatogravic illusions (a nose-up illusion) causing the pilot to incorrectly push the nose down. The report also cited the captain's underlying health issues and the airline's failure to ensure proper medical clearance following his recent surgery.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
SCAT 760 - [Crash during Go-around 1) 2) 3)*] 29 January 2013 — A detailed breakdown of the SCAT Airlines Flight 760 accident, covering the pilot incapacitation theory, EGPWS alerts, and somatogravic illusions.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Vladimir Nikolaevich Evdokimov, aged 55. Autopsy revealed coronary artery disease. He had been with SCAT since 2001.
First Officer
Alexander Vladimirovich Sharapov, aged 43. He had been with the airline since 2006.
Systems & Failure Modes
Elevator Control System
The investigation found the elevator was deflected to a nose-down position during the go-around, but found no evidence of mechanical failure in the control linkage or actuators.
EGPWS
The Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System functioned correctly and provided alerts, but the crew failed to respond to the warnings.
Autopilot / TO/GA
The autopilot was disconnected as per standard procedure for a manual go-around, and the Take-Off/Go-Around mode was successfully engaged before the upset.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was a Bombardier CRJ200ER with 25,707 flight hours and 22,975 cycles.
- 02Visibility at the time of the accident was 200 meters horizontal and 40 meters vertical.
- 03The captain had 18,194 total flight hours, but the first officer had only 132 hours on the CRJ200.
- 04Post-mortem examination of the captain revealed coronary artery disease.
- 05The aircraft impacted the ground 14 seconds after the go-around was initiated.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Medical Examination Oversight
The investigation highlighted the need for stricter compliance with health examination requirements for flight personnel, particularly regarding rehabilitation periods after surgery.