The plane took off from Moscow Sheremetyevo airport, and stopped the climb at about 10 000 ft (3000 meters) following a lightning strike. The crew declared loss of radio communication first, later emergency via transponder codes. The crew elected to return to Moscow for a landing, and circled back. The plane bounced upon landing, and on the next contact with the runway the plane’s tail violently hit the runway and a fire erupted. The Superjet 100 then veered left off the runway and came to a stop on the grass adjacent to the runway, with lot of flames at the back. Many occupants escaped the burning plane via the front right and left emergency slides. the flight crew escaped via the escape ropes through the cockpit sliding windows. The tail section has been completely destroyed by the flames. Emergency services reported the fire was extinguished about 45 minutes after landing.

Initial investigations have shown that a lightning strike during the climb have resulted in the failure of the radios and other equipment including the autopilot. The crew returned to Moscow. While landing at Moscow airport, the plane experienced a rough landing and bounces. Following the 4th touch down a fire broke out at the tail section of the aircraft and the aircraft veered left off the runway.