Narrative:Two hours and ten minutes after takeoff from Chardzhou (CRZ), Turkmenistan, the giant ANT-20 plane was some fifty kilometres from its destination Tashkent. It was seen to lose height, descending to 500 m above the ground.
The aircraft entered a steep dive, hitting the ground at an angle of 80°.
During the investigation it was discovered that the pilot was not at the controls when the aircraft crashed. It seems that he gave the controls to a passenger who disconnected the autopilot and lost control.
Classification:
Loss of control
Sources:
» Tupolev: The Man and His Aircraft / Andrei Kandalov, Paul Duffy , 1996 (ISBN 1560918993)
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Chardzhou Airport to Tashkent Airport as the crow flies is 535 km (334 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.