While seated at the controls, the pilot's son had unknowingly partially disengaged the A310's autopilot control of the aircraft's ailerons. The autopilot then disengaged completely, causing the aircraft to roll into a steep bank and a near-vertical dive.

Aeroflot Flight 593 crashed on March 23, 1994, due to a tragic chain of events initiated when the pilot allowed his 15-year-old son to sit at the controls. While the aircraft was on autopilot, the son unknowingly applied enough force to the control column to partially disengage the autopilot's command of the ailerons. The flight crew failed to notice a silent indicator light signaling the partial disengagement. This led to a steep right bank that the pilots, confused by the aircraft's unusual behavior, failed to correct in time. The plane entered a near-vertical dive and stalled. Although the pilots eventually managed to level the aircraft, they had already descended too low to avoid crashing into the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain range, resulting in the loss of all 75 people on board.