Ice build-up may have caused Kazakh air crash

A build-up of ice may have caused a passenger plane crash in Kazakhstan last month in which 12 died but dozens survive, a state commission said on Friday.

The plane, operated by budget carrier Bek Air, was torn apart and its nose crushed on impact with a two-storey building minutes after taking off from Almaty on December 27.

Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar said on Friday that the plane's wings had not been de-iced, causing a build-up that the commission had identified as the most likely cause of the crash.

"Work on treating this aircraft with anti-icing fluid was carried out only partly," said Sklyar, who is in charge of the state commission.

"The aircraft commander decided to treat only the stabiliser with anti-icing fluid -- the wings of the aircraft were not processed."