Katekavia Flight 9357

Katekavia

Industry	Aviation
Headquarters	Russia
Products	Air transport services

Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence

Katekavia Flight 9357 was a domestic regional flight operated by an Antonov An-24 aircraft traveling from Krasnoyarsk to Igarka in Russia. The plane crashed during its final approach amid foggy conditions in the early morning hours of 3 August 2010, resulting in twelve fatalities among the fifteen people aboard.

The investigation determined that the flight crew attempted to land despite visibility being below the minimum standards authorized for both the airfield and aircraft. Additionally, they did not initiate a timely missed approach maneuver, which led to the aircraft colliding with trees and terrain.

Accident

During its final approach to Igarka Airport, the aircraft impacted terrain approximately 700 metres (2,300 ft) short of the runway.Template:Fix/category Reports indicated rainy weather accompanied by light cloud cover and thunderstorms in the vicinity at the time of the accident. The crash took place at roughly 01:40 local time (17:40 UTC, 2 August). According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, "the aircraft deviated to the right of its intended landing path and struck the ground before reaching the runway."

Aircraft

File:Antonov An-24RV, Katekavia AN0899017.jpg

An Antonov An-24 operated by Katekavia similar to the accident plane

The aircraft involved was a twin-engine turboprop Antonov An-24RV bearing serial number 47310003 and registered in Russia as RA-46524. Manufactured in 1974, it had accumulated nearly 54,000 flight hours prior to the incident.

Casualties

The accident resulted in the deaths of ten passengers and one crew member aboard the aircraft, while three crew members and one passenger initially survived. However, the passenger who survived succumbed to injuries at the hospital on 3 August 2010, increasing the fatality count to twelve. The remaining three survivors suffered only minor injuries. The surviving individuals included the pilot, co-pilot, and the flight engineer. Initial reports incorrectly stated that there were no survivors; later updates confirmed seven fatalities before the total was revised to eleven, and finally twelve.

Aftermath

Following the crash, emergency responders extinguished a fire at the scene, which enabled recovery teams to search for the aircraft's black boxes. An official investigation commenced shortly thereafter. Both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) were retrieved; however, the CVR only captured data from the first 80 minutes of the 90-minute flight, whereas the FDR recorded the entire flight duration. Subsequently, authorities initiated a government inquiry into Katekavia’s operational procedures as a consequence of this incident.Template:Fix/category

Investigation

File:Окончательный отчет Ан-24РВ RA-46524.pdf

MAK's conclusive report on the RA-46524 accident

Initial inquiries suggested that dense fog in the vicinity caused the aircraft to collide with trees located before the runway.

The final investigative report published by Moscow's Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) in October 2010 determined that the accident resulted from an attempted landing under meteorological conditions below the minimum thresholds permitted for the airfield, aircraft, and pilot. The flight crew did not execute a timely go-around maneuver. They descended beneath the prescribed minimum safe altitude without acquiring dependable visual confirmation of the runway or approach lighting, which ultimately caused the aircraft to strike trees and terrain.

According to MAK, had the safety measures recommended after the 2007 UTair Flight 471 crash been applied, this incident might have been avoided. The investigation issued nineteen safety recommendations in total.