Dushanbe - Sharjah

On December 15, 1997 at 06:35 PM, Dushanbe - Sharjah experienced a crash involving Tupolev TU-154, operated by Tajikistan Airlines - Tajik Air, with the event recorded near Sharjah Sharjah (<U+0627><U+0644><U+0634><U+0627><U+0631><U+0642><U+0629><U+0651>).

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

86 people were known to be on board, 85 fatalities were recorded, 1 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 98.8%.

Crew on board: 7, crew fatalities: 6, passengers on board: 79, passenger fatalities: 79, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. Following an uneventful flight, the aircraft entered the UAE airspace and was cleared by Dubai ATC to successively descend to FL170, 100, 060 and 025 via heading 190. Passing 3,460 feet on descent, the crew was cleared to continue to 1,500 feet when, at an altitude of 1,800 feet, the aircraft entered an area of turbulences. The level of 1,500 feet was reached 15 km from the runway 30 threshold. For unknown reasons, the crew failed to report he was passing 1,500 feet and was then instructed to continue via heading 270 for the final approach to runway 30. In a relative limited visibility, the crew initiated a right turn at a speed of 400 km/h then lowered the landing gear. At an altitude of 820 feet, an alarm sounded in the cockpit, informing the crew about an excessive angle of attack. The captain corrected the pitch from 20° to 14° when few seconds later, at an altitude of 690 feet, the aircraft entered a second area of turbulences. The captain realized his altitude was insufficient and requested an increase of engine power when the aircraft struck the ground and crashed 13 km short of runway, bursting into flames. The copilot was the only survivor while 85 other occupants were killed. The aircraft disintegrated on impact.

Aircraft reference details include registration EY-85281, MSN 78A281, year of manufacture 1978.