The Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 also affected its state-owned airline, Aeroflot. The Kazakh division was transformed into Kazakhstan Airlines, with scheduled flights from its base at Almaty International Airport being launched in 1992. It inherited a fleet of the following aircraft types:
In February 1994, a single Western built airliner was put into service: a Boeing 747SP. The 747SP was used to serve the New York routes.
Accidents and incidents
Kazakhstan Airlines was involved in the Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, which occurred on 12 November 1996 and—with its 349 fatalities—marks one of the deadliest air disasters in history. A Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76, operating as Flight 1907, collided with a Boeing 747-100B of Saudi Arabian Airlines. Investigation into the accident revealed that the pilots of Flight 1907 had descended from their assigned altitude, which was attributed to poor training and non-sufficient English language skills. As a consequence, the government of Kazakhstan declared that Kazakhstan Airlines was bankrupt, transferring its assets to newly founded Air Kazakhstan. There were another four accidents resulting in an aircraft of Kazakhstan Airlines being written-off, none of which resulted in any reported fatalities: at Zurich Airport.
On 16 January 1993, an Antonov An-24 with nineteen passengers and four crew crash-landed at Kostanay Airport. During approach of the airport, the left wing engine failed. The pilots did not manage to properly align the aircraft with the runway and failed to execute a go-around, resulting in the aircraft hitting the ground 162 meters short of the runway threshold.
Still in 1995, on 1 November, an Antonov An-24 crash landed on a field 1100 meters short of the runway threshold of Shymkent Airport in a failed landing attempt. The aircraft had been on a training flight with four crew on board.
