The aircraft involved was a Tupolev Tu-154B-2, registration RA-85588, 6 MSN 83A/588. The plane first flew in 1983. Entered service with Aeroflot as CCCP-85588 and received the new registration RA-85 588 in June 1993. Mavial subsequently served for Magadan Airlines between October 1994 and August 1999, when it began operating with Vladivostok Air. Kogalymavia acquired the plane in April 2007.
The Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) of Russia opened an investigation into the accident. Likewise opened a criminal investigation separately to investigate allegations of failures in the transport and safety standards before the fire. The black boxes were rescued from the wreckage. The Emergency Situations Ministry of Russia reported that initial investigations suggested an electrical short circuit as the most likely cause of the fire, which started in the central area of the fuselage, ahead of the aircraft engines, mounted in the section tail of the device. 14 The fire started between rows 65 and 68. In a report published on January 4, MAK scored in the engine or APU as the cause of the fire.