What happened
On May 3, 2010, an Antonov An-2, registration RA-40373, conducted an unauthorized flight from the village of Erik to the Mirny landing strip in the Goryachekluchevsky District of Krasnodar Krai. The flight, intended for forest spraying operations, was performed without flight authorization, without a flight plan, and without communication with the Krasnodar ADP controller. The crew, consisting of the pilot in command and a co-pilot, operated under a contract between Yug-Agro LLC and an individual entrepreneur for agricultural work.
On May 6, 2010, the crew and an aircraft technician arrived at the Mirny landing strip to begin pre-flight preparations. Although the pilot in command was certified for agricultural spraying, the pre-flight procedures were incomplete; the crew lacked current weather information, a flight assignment, and air traffic control clearance. Despite these omissions, the pilot in command decided to proceed with the spraying operations. The crew began the spraying mission at 03:00.
Prior to the incident, the aircraft had completed three successful sorties. Following refueling with 300 liters of gasoline and 700 liters of biological agent, the aircraft's takeoff weight was 4,820 kg, which was within the maximum takeoff weight of 5,250 kg. The center of gravity was 25.7%, within the permitted range for RA-40373. At approximately 06:26, the aircraft took off. While flying at an altitude of 10 to 15 meters, the crew heard two distinct pops from the carburetor, after which the engine failed.