At 20:46, the flight made its first radio contact with Maputo Air Traffic Control (ATC), reporting its position and that it was continuing towards the Maputo VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) navigation beacon while maintaining an altitude of 35,000 feet (11,000 m).
At 21:02 the crew radioed that they were ready to begin descending, and after being instructed by the Maputo controller to report reaching 3,000 feet MSL or when the runway lights were in sight, began their descent for an ILS approach to runway 23.

Over the next eight minutes the aircraft maintained its required track toward Maputo with minor lateral deviations.
Then at 21:10 the aeroplane commenced a turn away from Maputo to the right, lasting almost one minute in duration and a resulting heading change from 184° magnetic to 221°.
At this time the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) recorded the navigator stating the distance remaining to Maputo as 100 kilometres (62 mi; 54 nmi), then a comment from the captain about the turn, and the navigator's response that the "VOR indicates that way".

Around 21:15 the navigator stated that the distance to Maputo was 60 kilometres (37 mi; 32 nmi).
Over the next few minutes, there were several comments from the crew indicating that they believed the navigational aids at Maputo were unavailable: the captain stated that "there is no Maputo" and "electrical power is off, chaps!",
while the navigator reported that the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) were switched off and that the non-directional beacons (NDBs) were not working.
At 20:46, the flight made its first radio contact with Maputo Air Traffic Control (ATC), reporting its position and that it was continuing towards the Maputo VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) navigation beacon while maintaining an altitude of 35,000 feet (11,000 m). At 21:02 the crew radioed that they were ready to begin descending, and after being instructed by the Maputo controller to report reaching 3,000 feet MSL or when the runway lights were in sight, began their descent for an ILS approach to runway 23.
Over the next eight minutes the aircraft maintained its required track toward Maputo with minor lateral deviations. Then at 21:10 the aeroplane commenced a turn away from Maputo to the right, lasting almost one minute in duration and a resulting heading change from 184° magnetic to 221°. At this time the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) recorded the navigator stating the distance remaining to Maputo as 100 kilometres (62 mi; 54 nmi), then a comment from the captain about the turn, and the navigator's response that the "VOR indicates that way".
Around 21:15 the navigator stated that the distance to Maputo was 60 kilometres (37 mi; 32 nmi). Over the next few minutes, there were several comments from the crew indicating that they believed the navigational aids at Maputo were unavailable: the captain stated that "there is no Maputo" and "electrical power is off, chaps!", while the navigator reported that the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) were switched off and that the non-directional beacons (NDBs) were not working.
1986 Mozambican Tupolev Tu-134 crash