Preliminary findings from investigators probing a fatal Dassault Falcon 10 crash in Afghanistan indicate the crew was attempting an emergency landing after running low on fuel.
The Russian-registered aircraft (RA-09011) had been conducting a 20 January medical flight from U-Tapao in Thailand to Moscow Zhukovsky.
After refuelling at Gaya, in India, the crew continued to a second refuelling point at Tashkent in Uzbekistan.
But the aircraft “deviated from the route”, according to the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee in a safety briefing covering the first half of 2024.
It has not detailed the nature of the deviation, but says it “led to additional fuel consumption”, and the crew opted to make an emergency approach to Kulob airport in Tajikistan – some 380km south of Tashkent.
While following air traffic control instructions to enter the Kulob airport zone, the crew realised the aircraft had only a small quantity of remaining fuel and attempted to land in a mountainous area of Afghanistan.
The jet collided with a snow-covered mountain slope in the Afghan province of Badakhshan.
Six occupants had been on board including two pilots and two medical workers, who were injured, and two other people being transported, neither of whom survived the crash.
