What happened
On July 19, 2009, a flight crew consisting of a pilot-in-command, a co-pilot, and a flight engineer prepared for scheduled operations under the direction of Skylink Aviation Inc. The crew underwent medical examinations starting at 00:00 UTC, after which they were cleared for flight. The mission involved two primary flight legs using a group of three helicopters: Mi-8MTV-1 RA-25831, Mi-8MTV-1 RA-25832, and Mi-8T EX-503.
The first scheduled leg, covering the route from Kandahar to Frontenak, Tarinkowt, and returning to Kandahar, was completed by RA-25831 without incident. During the operations, the Mi-8T EX-503 required refueling at the Tarinkowt site, which caused a two-hour delay for the entire helicopter group.
Following the return to Kandahar, the crew prepared for the second leg, which was scheduled to depart at 07:00 UTC. This route was intended to traverse Kandahar, operational points Kalant and Wolvrine, and Spin Buldac before returning to Kandahar. The co-pilot calculated the flight duration to be 2 hours and 20 minutes, with Kandahar designated as the alternate airfield. Weather conditions were reported to be consistent with Visual Flight Rules (VFR) requirements for the planned routes.