An investigation revealed the aircraft went below the minimum obstacle clearance altitude (MOCA) during approach to Samarkand International Airport.

At 14:11 Moscow time the Ilyushin departed Tashkent International Airport and climbed to a cruising altitude of 5,100 meters in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).

At 14:33:47 air traffic control (ATC) contacted flight U-45 and gave permission to descend to 2,700 meters and reported their distance to Samarkand Airport at 93 kilometers.

The construction of the airliner was completed on 29 January 1962 and it had sustained a total of 12,885 flight hours and 4,968 takeoff and landing cycles before the crash.

Although the IL-18 was equipped with radar, its effectiveness was degraded substantially by the weather conditions so the crew had to rely on ATC information.