Narrative:While en route to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk the crew tuned the radio compass on the frequency of the locator of the military airfield at Korsakov (684 kHz) instead of the frequency of the locator of the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport (670 kHz) by mistake. The beacons were situated at a distance of only 13.5 km from each other.
While descending in clouds according to the approach pattern of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport, but guided by the locator at Korsakov, the aircraft hit trees on the slope of a hill in the area of Mt. Komissarskaya (714 metres), 13.5 km south-east of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The aircraft came to rest upside down on top of the hill at 460 metres.
Classification:
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
Sources:
» airdisaster.ru
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 Khabarovsk-Novy Airport to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport as the crow flies is 588 km (367 miles).
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.