According to the Soviets, the other navigational aids at Maputo were not strong enough to reach the aircraft and therefore were of no help to the flight crew. A LAM Airlines Boeing 737 flying at around the same time as the accident aircraft reported receiving the Maputo VOR signal unusually early, at a distance of about . The Soviets stated that this was actually the false decoy beacon that was working with a higher signal level that the actual Maputo VOR.