On 17 November 2013, at 19:24 local time (UTC+4), the Boeing 737-500 crashed during an aborted landing at Kazan International Airport, killing all 44 passengers and 6 crew members on board.

[1][2] According to the official investigation report by the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), the crash was a result of pilot error, arising from a lack of skill to recover from an excessive nose-up attitude during a go-around procedure.

[9][10] The Kazan International Airport was kept closed for about 24 hours, serving only transit flights, before it was fully reopened on 18 November.

[citation needed] The airframe had been involved in two prior incidents: The captain was 47-year-old Rustem Gabdrakhmanovich Salikhov, (Russian: Рустем Габдлайманович Салихов) who had been with the airline since 1992.

Moments before the crash the pilot informed the control tower that the aircraft was not properly configured for landing and initiated a go-around, before plunging into the ground as if it had stalled.

During the final approach, the flight crew were unable to follow a standard landing pattern defined by the regulating documentation.

Having realized the aircraft was not lined-up properly relative to the runway, the crew reported to the ATC and started to go-around using the TOGA (take off / go around) mode.

Affected by the upturn moment generated by the engine thrust, the aircraft started to climb, reaching the pitch angle of about 25 degrees.

On 24 December 2015, the IAC released their final report stating that the crash was caused by an under-qualified crew who lacked the skills to recover from an excessive nose up attitude during a go-around procedure.

At that moment the captain, who had not performed a go-around outside of training, moved the yoke, pitching nose down, which led to stopping climb and started a descent and increase of the aircraft's airspeed.

[3] Rosaviatsiya refused to accept the results of the IAC's Flight 363 accident investigation, citing their concern over the Boeing 737's elevators' controls.

On 4 November 2015, IAC unexpectedly announced the suspension of Boeing 737 flying certificates in Russia, explaining it by Rosaviatsiya's refusal to accept the absence of safety issues with 737 elevator controls.

[28] With the Boeing 737 being a work-horse of several Russian airlines, the suspension meant that within days the significant part of the country's passenger fleet could be grounded for an uncertain period of time.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian President, said that Kremlin was aware of the IAC decision to suspend Boeing 737 operation in Russia and believed that the specialized agencies and the Cabinet would make the necessary analysis of the situation.

[27] Rosaviatsiya announced that the IAC had no right to ban any Boeing 737 operation in Russia, as such a decision could be made only by the federal executive bodies.

[29] In early December 2013 (2013-12), Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency recommended that the airline's certificate should be revoked.