Preparing for final approach, the crew did not notice they were too low, and the aircraft crashed into the desert approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) east of Sharjah Airport.

[2] The International Civil Aviation Organization suggested the probable cause was "The pilot descended below the assigned altitude and unintentionally continued a descent into terrain.

[1] The president of the Tajikistan State Air Company, who had chartered the flight, claimed that an explosion had taken place on the aircraft prior to the crash, but there was no evidence to support this.

[7] As many as 3,000 people gathered in the main square of Khujand for the mourning, while Tajik Prime Minister, Yahyo Azimov, spoke of "a dreadful tragedy".

[8] Nineteen (including 18 Tajiks and one Iranian)[9] of the bodies were severely damaged and could not be identified; they were subsequently buried in a mass grave near Dushanbe International Airport.