Crew Location and Assignment
According to an order of the federal state enterprise 'Koryak Aviation Enterprise' (KorAP) No. 37 'On Sending to an Operational Point', the crew of helicopter Mi-8T RA-24209, consisting of the commander, second pilot, and flight engineer, had been stationed in the settlement of Anavgay since 18 December 2009. They were conducting flights from the Anavgay landing site in the Tigilsky District of Kamchatka Krai.
Flight Request and Approval
On 28 December 2009, following a request from an individual entrepreneur, the crew was scheduled to perform a flight along the route Anavgay landing site – Tigil airport for the purpose of transporting commercial cargo (foodstuffs). The flight request and subsequent flight plan were submitted by the commander to the Zonal Air Traffic Control Center in Khabarovsk. The Zonal ATC Center approved the request, thereby authorizing the use of airspace for 28–29 December 2009.
Crew Training and Qualifications
The professional training of the crew members was consistent with the nature of the upcoming task. The crew was qualified for flights in mountainous terrain with the right to select landing sites up to 1,000 m in altitude. Training flights to practice piloting techniques onto landing sites with freshly fallen snow were conducted on 18 November 2009. Simulator training for the commander and second pilot was performed on 17 December 2009, and for the flight engineer on 5 October 2009 at the Far Eastern Center for Professional Training of Aviation Personnel (DV TsPAP) in Khabarovsk. The commander underwent training flights and landings with one engine shut down (throttled back) on 4 June 2009.
However, according to an entry in the commander's logbook, the last check of piloting technique at the assigned weather minimums was performed on 21 July 2008. During 2009, this check was not conducted, in violation of the requirements of the Mi-8 Flight Personnel Training Manual (PPLS Mi-8, task 16.1, exercise 4).
Preliminary Crew Preparation
According to the record of preliminary preparation of KorAP, the crew in full composition conducted preliminary preparation on 14 October 2009 at the Tilichiki airfield. The preparation was conducted under the established procedures.