At the time of the accident, the aircraft had a total of 15,700 flight hours and 7,900 pressurization cycles.

The cockpit crew consisted of:[4] Flight 1036 crashed during the initial climb phase of takeoff from the Sochi-Moscow route.

The weather of the day of the accident was clear, with visibility over 5 kilometers, mild winds, and an air temperature of 17 °C.

At 19:40 air traffic control received a message from warships in the area that a plane crashed, describing the route; witnesses reported the aircraft turned onto a bearing of 220° about 10.5 km from the shore before it veered off and crashed.

At 23:52 about 5-6 kilometers from the shore debris from the aircraft and fragments of bodies were found floating on the surface of the sea.