What happened
On January 18, 2011, an AS-355N helicopter, registration RA-04109, completed a flight to Valaam Island carrying four passengers. The crew consisted of a pilot-in-command and a backup pilot-in-command, a configuration implemented at the owner's request despite the aircraft's minimum requirement of only one pilot. Following this initial flight, the crew remained on Valaam, with return flights originally scheduled for January 18 and 19 being canceled due to unfavorable weather forecasts.
On the morning of January 20, 2011, at 08:30, the pilot-in-command received a weather update via telephone from the Pulkovo MDP dispatcher. This forecast indicated that visibility in heavy rain could temporarily drop to 700 meters across several areas within the Saint Petersburg Air Traffic Control responsibility zones. Based on this information, no decision to fly was initially made.
At 10:40, having received no further updates regarding the weather along the intended route, the pilot-in-command decided to proceed with the flight. The crew notified the flight planning and coordination group of their intended route from Valaam to Yukki and Kovalevo, scheduled for 11:00, operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) at altitudes up to 300 meters. By 10:57, the flight plan was confirmed. The crew performed pre-flight preparations, including operational maintenance and logbook entries, and boarded the four passengers previously delivered to the island. No refueling was performed prior to the departure attempt.