Russian investigators have been told that the crew of an Antonov An-26 was attempting a go-around when the aircraft crashed short of the runway at Utrenny airport.
Operated by Utair, it had been arriving from Sabetta after a charter flight on 14 June, carrying 36 passengers and five crew members.
Federal air transport regulator Rosaviatsia states that the captain was the flying pilot during the descent towards runway 19 for landing.
“According to his explanation, during the landing approach he decided to go around owing to lack of visual contact with the runway,” it says.
But during the missed approach, it adds, the aircraft’s speed fell to around 86kt and it descended, colliding with snow-covered terrain about 900m from the threshold.
While there were no fatalities, Rosaviatsia says a number of passengers and crew members received injuries of “varying severity”. The aircraft (RA-26662) was substantially damaged.
Rosaviatsia points out, in a preliminary bulletin, that the cloud base was down to 70m while the minimum decision height for the VOR-DME approach to runway 19 is 100m. Visibility was 1,800m, above the minimum of 1,500m.
While the inquiry has yet to reach conclusions, Rosaviatsia highlights the findings of a previous investigation, the 17 August 2022 accident which damaged an Angara An-24 during landing at Ust-Kut airport.
The regulator states that the An-24 had conducted an approach in conditions below minima, and that the captain opted to land even though the weather did not allow for safe manoeuvring to maintain a stable approach.
This led to “disproportionate” control inputs from the crew and excessive deviation from the flightpath. The aircraft stalled, causing its left wing to strike the runway, fracturing the outer section.
Rosaviatsia says the pilots did not divert, despite the poor conditions, nor did they respond to ground-proximity warnings.
As a result of the An-26 crash at Utrenny, the regulator has urged greater focus on decision-making during non-precision approaches, including awareness of stable approach criteria and readiness to execute a go-around.
