On 25 December 2012, an

Antonov An-72 The Antonov An-72 (NATO reporting name: Coaler) is a Soviet/Ukrainian transport aircraft, developed by Antonov. It was designed as an STOL transport and intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-26, but variants have found success as commer ...

military transport aircraft operated by the

Kazakh Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Республикасының Қарулы Күштері, , russian: Вооружённые силы Республики Казахстан) is the unified armed forces of ...

crashed about from the city of

Shymkent Shymkent (; Шымкент, Şymkent), known until 1993 as Chimkent ( uz, Çımkent, چىمكېنت; Yañalif: Çimkent ()); russian: Чимкент, translit=Chimkent (), is a city in Kazakhstan. It is near the border with Uzbekistan. It is one ...

, Kazakhstan, where the aircraft was preparing to land. All 27 people on board died in the crash.

History of the flight

The aircraft had been flying from Kazakhstan's capital of

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...

to Shymkent, and was carrying seven crew and 20 members of the Kazakh border patrol, including its leader, the acting director of the Kazakhstan Border Guard Service,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Turganbek Stambekov.

Accident

The accident occurred at about 19:00 local time (1300 UTC) as the aircraft was descending to land. According to local media, the aircraft had been flying at an altitude around , when it suddenly crashed to the ground. Emergency crews were dispatched from Shymkent in response. However, the head of the local emergency services department stated, "the plane was destroyed by fire. Only fragments ereleft." Kazakhstan's National Security Committee issued a statement confirming that all 27 people on board had died in the crash, and also said that an investigation into the incident has begun.

Investigation

The investigation commission found out that failure of the autopilot and

radio altimeter Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

combined with poor visibility, and the pilot failing to follow instruction to use the

barometric altimeter An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. The m ...

caused the crash.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazakhstan Antonov An-72 crash 2012 disasters in Kazakhstan Aviation accidents and incidents in 2012 Aviation accidents and incidents in Kazakhstan Turkistan Region December 2012 events in Asia