What happened
On January 1, 2016, at approximately 0621 UTC, a Bell 4PE helicopter, registration RA-01617, was performing an approach to land in Rostov-na-Dony, Russia. While the aircraft was at an altitude of approximately 90 feet, it began to rotate to the right and climbed to about 200 feet. Following this movement, the helicopter entered an uncontrolled descent and struck the terrain.
The aircraft was operating in a river valley. Weather conditions at the time of the accident included VMC with winds of 000/01kt, though observations indicated conditions that could allow for restricted visibility due to fog or freezing mist.
The crash resulted in 2 serious injuries to the certified pilots, with 0 fatalities.