What happened
On March 2, 2008, at approximately 1320 UTC, a Robinson R-44 II, registered as RA-04223, crashed near Nizhnevartovsk, Russia. The aircraft struck trees and terrain, resulting in 2 fatal injuries for the pilot and the passenger. The flight was being operated under Russian flight regulations.
The investigation
Following the accident, the wreckage of the helicopter was not located until July 2008. An initial examination of the debris indicated that the aircraft impacted a swampy forest area while in a nose-down, right roll attitude.