Post-crash examination of the engines found no pre-crash damage or signs of in-flight fire – the fire warnings were false. The fire warning system was almost completely destroyed by the accident and fire and the reason for the false warnings could not be determined; although there had been nine reported instances of
bleed air leaks causing spurious engine fire warnings on Il-62s between 1975 and the date of the accident, this was ruled out as a cause. The investigation found that it was impossible for the aircraft to maintain altitude on two engines with its flaps set for takeoff and at its weight of , which was close to the
maximum takeoff weight for an Il-62. It found no fault with the pilots' actions, who could not make a
forced landing because of the dark and the urban areas on the ground below. The investigation found the pilots had followed flight manual procedures; however, there was no procedure in the flight manual to cover the situation in which they found themselves. ==Notes==