Preliminary data from the Intergovernmental Committee on the Il-76 disaster in Priangary indicate excessive smoke as a likely cause. The crew did not see the hill due to smoke, leading to tragedy. All ten crew members died trying to manage the situation. Read the full report on the events and initial findings of the investigation.
In the Interstate Aviation Committee, it is believed that the most plausible cause of the Il-76 crash in the Irkutsk region is excessive smoke. It is assumed that due to the smoke, the crew may not have noticed a hill located in front of them, and the plane crashed into it.This is suggested by the initial data that emerged from the aircraft's flight recorder, which was extinguishing forest fires in the Irkutsk region. The plane descended too low to localize the fire in the forests of the area.
The IAC stated that based on the results of the decoding of the first "black box" of the Il-76, it became clear that the crew did not expect a collision or any other disaster. The communication process between the crew was proceeding normally without any panic.
Recall that the crew of the aircraft lost contact on July 1 at 11:30 local time. The Il-76 was equipped with a discharge aviation device for extinguishing natural fires. In the night of July 3, rescuers discovered the wreckage of the aircraft 4 km south of the settlement of Rybnoy Uyan in the Kachugsky district. All ten crew members, who tried to save the aircraft until the last moment, perished.