Two of the unseated passengers were placed in the restrooms, two in the front of the aircraft, and the radio operator's son sat in the cockpit.

A Chosonminhang (now Air Koryo) Tupolev Tu-154, registered P-551, was damaged after being struck by the aircraft during the crash.

Investigators initially suspected the right wing had been modified during maintenance in such a way that it resulted in an aerodynamic imbalance.

Flight testing showed that the Tupolev Tu-104 was prone to banking in a side wind.

The commission of the Ministry of Aviation Industry of the USSR tasked with investigating the crash concluded the causes of the accident were as follows;