The An-12 military transport plane operated on a cargo flight from St. Petersburg to Krasnodar. The airplane carried six crew members and eleven passengers. Among the passengers was the commander of the Leningrad Military District. In addition to military cargo, the airplane carried building materials and a private car. Reportedly intended for the commander’s house in the Krasnodar region. The airplane was 1500 kg overloaded when it departed Andreapol Air Base following an intermediate stop. It was snowing at the time of departure and ice was building up on the wings. When the flaps were retracted after takeoff, the airplane began to roll and was unstable. Control was lost and the airplane crashed into the woods in a nose-up attitude in a 50ø roll. The airplane broke up and burned.