Investigators name cause of Yak-130 crash in Baranovichi

26 октября 2021

We all remember the heroism and courage of the pilots, who actually repeated the feat of the first Hero of Belarus Vladimir Karvat. Andrei Nichiporchik and Nikita Kukonenko steered the falling plane away from residential buildings at the cost of their lives. 

Today, investigators have identified the cause of the tragedy - the failure of sensors and drives of the complex control system, as well as the stabilizer of the aircraft. The Investigation Committee has completed the investigation into the case.  On May 19, the training flights were carried out at the airfield in Baranovichi. On that day, a group of four Yak-130 aircraft took off from Lida airfield and flew along the assigned route. After completing the task the aircraft commander proceeded to solo aerobatics at low altitudes over the airfield. While the airplane was turning, the onboard control system began to register signals of sensor failures. From that moment the pilots lost control of the airplane. The crew was repeatedly commanded by radio communication to eject.