The plane crashed in the desert approximately 16 km from Damascus Airport. First the front landing gear, then the left wing, and then it began to slide on the belly, and in between it began to disintegrate and burn. The only part of the plane that survived relatively intact was the tail section. Debris was scattered over an area of 1 kilometer. The crash site was soon surrounded by Syrian soldiers from a nearby base. They helped the three surviving passengers to get out of the wreckage. A 30-year-old Syrian student, a girl and a boy survived, but boy died on the way to the hospital. 125 people were dead on the spot.
Investigation
The investigation took place almost immediately after the accident. However, there were complications for the Czechoslovak commission from the Institute for Professional Investigation of Air Accidents (ÚZPLN), which did not receive permission to investigate the crash site. After two days of negotiations, the commission received permission to inspect the site. The Syrian and Soviet commissions of inquiry also joined. They tried to find the black boxes, however the plane was not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder, which greatly complicated the investigation. The flight data recorder was found, but upon closer examination it was found that the tape with the data had burned, so it was unusable. The only point of reference was the footage from the control tower at the Damascus airport. However, there were no signs of trouble, except for one misunderstanding. However, communication from aircraft was performed by navigator Aulík.
Communication between crew and tower:
OK 540: Good evening, we are approaching Damascus VOR 5000 feet.
Tower: Good evening, please wait! (interruption) ….. 6315, take the first right!
OK 540: Turn right?
Tower: No, it's not for you. (interruption) ….. Flight 6315 take the first right!
OK 540: Thank you, first right.
Tower: OK 540, proceed to VOR approach, report runway final 23R, wind 230/12, QNH (altitude) 1010.
OK: Got it, runway 23 right, QNH 1010.
They also ruled out the possibility of an explosion in flight or being shot down, as the debris was scattered over a relatively small area. However, without a cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, they could only speculate. When interviewing eyewitnesses (two Czechoslovak ambassadors who were waiting for a flight and were supposed to travel to Tehran) the plane was turning towards the airport at the time of the accident, but was not ready to land, as the plane did not have its landing lights, and then they observed the explosion. Due to strict censorship in the Czechoslovakia, only little was written about the accident, and most of the material about it was top secret.