The accident aircraft was an Antonov An-12 cargo aircraft, powered by four turboprop engines, registered as UR-CAH and built in 1968 with msn. 8345064.
Accident
The aircraft departed Vigo-Peinador Airport in Spain, bound for Istanbul International Airport in Turkey, with eight people aboard, seven crew and one passenger, which was a cargo escort. Flight 4050 was a cargo flight, carrying of cargo, with the intention to stop-over on LvivInternational Airport, in Ukraine for refuelling, before continuing to Istanbul. The aircraft was approaching Runway 31, on heading 310, in difficult weather conditions; although there was little wind, vertical visibility was only, while visibility near the ground was and Runway Visual Range was. The crew declared an emergency and started to perform an emergency landing, but failed to reach the runway. The aircraft impacted the ground at 7:10A just before the Runway 31 threshold, close to the village of Sokilnyky. The cockpit section broke off on impact, then the cargo shifted, crushing and killing 5 occupants.
Emergency response
At 7:29L the crew member called and reported the aircraft performed an emergency landing. At 7:40L the wreckage of the aircraft was located 1.5 kilometers from Runway 31. By 9:00L it was determined there were eight people aboard. Three of them were found seriously injured and they were taken to the hospital. Three bodies were also found, while two were still missing. Later two missing bodies were found, all dead. It was finally determined five people perished in the crash, at least four of them were crew, and the sole passenger, a cargo escort.
Initially it was reported that there were three crew and one passenger, all four killed, but it was eventually corrected by the ministry. The ministry also confirmed that the aircraft was carrying ten tons of cargo.
Lviv's mayor
Lviv's mayor noted that the aircraft performed the emergency landing due to fuel exhaustion.
Investigation
opened officially investigation of the accident on October 9, four days after the crash. The on site work of the commission took place between October 5 and 7. In this action two black boxes were recovered and were in good condition and able to provide data. The other information, such as air traffic control communication, radar data, weather information, emergency service response and ground based navigation aids at the airport were also collected. The investigation is currently in progress.
