Investigation Summary
The flight crew of UTair 579 encountered severe weather upon arrival at Sochi, characterized by thunderstorms and heavy rain. After aborting the first approach due to weather, the crew committed to a second approach to runway 06. During this final approach, the aircraft experienced low-level horizontal windshear, triggering repetitive cockpit warnings which the crew ignored. The aircraft touched down at high speed and failed to stop within the remaining runway length. It overran the paved surface, breached the airport perimeter fence, and plunged into the Mzymta River. The impact destroyed the landing gear and wings, and the left engine ignited. Despite the fire and structural damage, all 164 passengers and 6 crew members evacuated, though 18 people suffered injuries including burns and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Final Conclusions
The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) released its final report on 12 December 2019. The investigation concluded the primary cause was the flight crew's decision to land despite repetitive windshear warnings and runway conditions that prohibited landing at the time. Specifically, the runway friction coefficient was below the required 0.3 minimum due to heavy standing water. Contributing factors included the crew's violation of standard operating procedures (SOPs), improper use of the autopilot and autothrottle in windshear conditions, late deployment of spoilers and reverse thrust, and deficiencies in crew resource management (CRM) training. Additionally, aerodrome services failed to properly inspect the runway after heavy rain, leading to the provision of inaccurate friction coefficient data to the crew.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Alexei Alekseevich Shnyrev, age 51.
First Officer
Sergei Eduardovich Ivanov, age 53. Had undergone windshear training in May 2018.
Systems & Failure Modes
Windshear Warning System
The system provided repetitive alerts to the crew regarding low-level horizontal windshear, which were ignored during the final approach.
Spoilers
The investigation noted that the late deployment of spoilers contributed to the aircraft's inability to stop within the runway length.
Autopilot
The IAC report cited improper use of the autopilot during the approach as a contributing factor to the accident.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was a Boeing 737-800 manufactured in 2002.
- 02All 170 people on board survived the crash and subsequent fire.
- 03An airport employee died of a heart attack during the rescue operation.
- 04The aircraft sustained terminal damage to its belly, wings, and engines.
- 05Windshear warnings were active and ignored by the crew during the final approach.
Safety Actions & Advisories
CRM and Windshear Training Review
The IAC recommended improvements to crew resource management training and adherence to windshear recovery procedures following the identification of SOP violations.
Location
ACCIDENT SITE · Coordinates taken from the official investigation report.