On December 15 of the same year, the 26141 aircraft was temporarily assigned to the Far Eastern Directorate, but returned to the North Caucasus on June 16, 1984.

[1] The aircraft was performing commercial flight GW-5719 from Krasnodar to Gyumri, transporting two "Niva" cars model VAZ-2121 and luggage.

At 17:30 MSK, the aircraft was ready for the flight, and at 17:44, the crew contacted the taxiing controller to request engine start-up.

However, the taxiing controller repeatedly prohibited engine start-up, stating that it was the instruction of the flight chief.

[3] It is noted that at the time of the aircraft's takeoff, the weather in Gyumri was already poor: the airport was enveloped in fog, and visibility dropped to 700 meters.

Moreover, when the aircraft was near Stavropol, the controller of the North Caucasus Air Traffic Management Center (СКЦ АУВД) contacted the crew to know if they intended to continue their flight to Gyumri, receiving an affirmative response.

[3] Knowing that the weather conditions at the airport were below the minimum required for Ан-26 aircraft, Commander Aristarkhov, however, wanted (needed) to land in Gyumri, which made him nervous and led to mistakes.

In particular, the auxiliary power unit was not activated, as required by the operating manual in case of approach at a mountain airport for an aircraft weighing 20100 kg or more.

At 20:54:15, the controller announced that the visibility at the airport had dropped to 200 meters, the aircraft passed the outer marker (DPRM).

The commander decided on a go-around, pulling the stick sharply to pitch the aircraft up and setting the engines to takeoff power.

But due to the high weight of the aircraft, the engine thrust was insufficient, the speed started to decrease.

[4] It is noted that the largest aviation disaster in Armenia is the 1988 Soviet Air Force Il-76 crash near Leniankan (name of Gyumri at the time) in 1988, killing 77 victims with only one survivor.