Nagurskoye (Franz Josef Archipelago)

The approach to Nagurskoye Airport was completed by a polar night and in poor weather conditions with snow falls. After landing on an iced and snow covered runway, the aircraft overran, lost its undercarriage and came to rest. Nine occupants were injured, among them four seriously. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The crew was completing a medevac flight to Nagurskoye on behalf of the Soviet Border Guards. On final approach to the ice strip located on Alexandra Land, Franz Josef archipelago, the crew encountered poor weather conditions when the aircraft was caught by a wind shear, came down so hard that the nose gear punched the fuselage. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off. The wreckage was still there at N80.80316 E47.73037 by April 2012, mostly covered by snow.

The airplane departed Nagurskoye Airport, in the Franz-Josef Archipelago, at 0820LT with a crew of five and two hydrologists on board to perform an ice reconnaissance to allow the launch of the icebreaker 'Indigirka'. While flying at an altitude of 150 meters in a visibility less than one km, the aircraft struck the southwest slope of the Graham Bell Glacier, flew for 750 meters before crashing in flames. The aircraft was destroyed and all seven occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the visibility was below minima.

The crew was completing a supply mission to the ice expedition christened 'Sever 7'. On approach to Nagurskoye ice strip, the pilot in command encountered low visibility due to thick fog. Rather than to divert to a suitable terrain, he tried three times to land, without success. During the fourth attempt to land, the aircraft was too low and misaligned when it struck the ground on short final. On touchdown, the left main gear was sheared off and the aircraft went out of control and came to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.