Contract and Mission
On 11 October 2022, Sochi-Heliski LLC and AeroGeo LLC signed contract No. D-2022/517 for aviation services. Under the contract, AeroGeo was to transport Sochi-Heliski staff during the 2022-2023 winter season. The flights were to follow routes and locations in Kemerovo Oblast and the Republic of Khakassia as specified in flight requests. Each mission involved carrying a group comprising a guide (Sochi-Heliski employee) and several skiers or snowboarders (Sochi-Heliski clients) to a mountain top or slope. After landing the group, the helicopter would fly to the base of the slope and wait for the group's return.
Aircraft and Crew
To fulfill the contract, AeroGeo dispatched an aviation group of two AS 350 B3 helicopters to a helipad at the Ozerki recreation base in Mezhdurechensky District, Kemerovo Oblast. The senior pilot (commander of the aviation squadron) piloted helicopter RA-07597. The pilot-in-command (KVS) piloted the second helicopter, RA-04060.
Pre-operation Activities
On 18 February 2023, both helicopters flew from Krasnoyarsk to the Ozerki landing site. That same day, the PIC conducted a familiarization flight in RA-04060 to survey the area of upcoming operations. During this flight, landings were made on snow-covered mountain sites selected from the air. The familiarization flight was accompanied by the senior pilot (an instructor pilot) who had flown in the same area in November and December 2022.
On 19 February 2023, no flights were performed. The crew stayed at a guest house at the Ozerki recreation base. A flight plan notification for Class G airspace was filed with the regional air traffic control center via the AFTN network on 19 February 2023.
Planned Operations on 20 February 2023
Work was scheduled to begin at 11:00 on 20 February 2023. Due to the late arrival of Sochi-Heliski clients, the start was delayed.