2012 Kazakhstan Antonov An-72 crash
Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan Antonov An-72-100 · Crashed on descent short of runway in bad weather
From Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (NQZ) to Shymkent International Airport (CIT)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 27 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 27
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Antonov An-72-100
- Aircraft type
- Antonov AN-72
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- UP-72859
- Onboard fatalities
- 27
- Route
- From Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (NQZ)To Shymkent International Airport (CIT)
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena
- Personnel issues › Task performance
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
On 25 December 2012, an Antonov An-72 military transport aircraft operated by the Kazakh Armed Forces crashed about 20 km from the city of Shymkent, Kazakhstan, where the aircraft was preparing to land. All 27 people on board died in the crash.
History of the flight
The aircraft had been flying from Kazakhstan's capital of Astana to Shymkent, near the border with Uzbekistan, and was carrying seven crew and 20 members of the Kazakh border patrol, including its leader, the acting director of the Kazakhstan Border Guard Service, Colonel Turganbek Stambekov.
Accident
The crash occurred at about 19:00 local time (1300 UTC) as the aircraft was descending to land. According to local media, the aircraft had been flying at an altitude around 800 m, when it suddenly crashed to the ground. Emergency crews were dispatched from Shymkent in response. However, the head of the local emergency services department stated, "the plane was destroyed by fire. Only fragments [were] left." Kazakhstan's National Security Committee issued a statement confirming that all 27 people on board had died in the crash, and that an investigation into the incident had begun.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
The investigation commission learned that failure of the autopilot and radio altimeter combined with poor visibility, and the pilot failing to follow instruction to use the barometric altimeter, caused the crash.
Text from the Wikipedia article “2012 Kazakhstan Antonov An-72 crash” (revision 1348422305, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 2012 Kazakhstan Antonov An-72 crash
- Revision
- 1348422305 · 2026-04-12 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q1704625
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "2012 Kazakhstan Antonov An-72 crash" (page 38023107, revision 1348422305)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator is an armed force according to Wikidata
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.