[1][3] The disaster was the result of gross violations of flight rules and air traffic control regulations in mountainous terrain by the air traffic control personnel and the crew, which led to descent of the aircraft below a safe altitude off the established approach pattern, resulting in a collision with a mountain and the complete destruction of the aircraft.

Initially, the captain selected a flight level of 5100 meters, but after passing Aktur at 12:58 and contacting the circle dispatcher (DPK) of sector B1 of the North Caucasus Automated Air Traffic Control System Center (SKTs AS UVD) "Strela," he received permission to climb to the level of 5700 meters, which he reached at 13:01:35, and then continued towards the traverse of Grozny.

The North Caucasus center dispatcher, likely not wanting to complicate matters, denied the request to head directly to Kizlyar but allowed off-course flight to the Grozny traverse after passing Almar.

When flight C-519 passed the Grozny traverse, the dispatcher informed the crew of their position and instructed them to proceed to the OPRS Kizlyar, which was complied with.

At 13:23, the airliner entered sector M1 airspace, so the crew contacted the Astrakhan center dispatcher and reported that they were flying at a level of 5700 meters and provided the estimated time for passing Kizlyar.

The crew knew that this route would involve flying over the mountainous Kanaburu range, but nonetheless, they complied with the instruction, turning towards the Makhachkala beacon after passing Kizlyar.

As a result, the crew continued to maintain the previous course, blindly trusting the data provided by the dispatcher and not using all the available on-board flight navigation instruments, which could have indicated that the aircraft was not heading towards the OPRM but into a mountainous area with higher peaks.

However, at 13:42:16, the crew reported passing the marker, and the dispatcher, without verifying the actual location of the aircraft by radar, at 13:42:24 instructed them to descend to an altitude of 400 meters for the fourth turn in the landing approach with a magnetic course of 143°.

Without reducing the vertical descent rate, the crew began to turn left to align with the landing course when, just 5 seconds later, at 13:42:56, the aircraft, flying in clouds at an altitude of 550 meters, with a 20° left bank, crashed into the slope of Mount Kukurt-Bash (elevation 894 meters) 23 kilometers west (azimuth 290°) of Makhachkala airport, completely destroyed and caught fire.