What happened
On February 1, 2026, between 11:35 and 13:30, the acting commander of the first aviation squadron at the Saint Petersburg State Civil Aviation University (SPbGU GA) conducted preliminary preparations for scheduled training flights. These exercises were planned for the following day, February 2, 2026, involving cadets from the Flight Operations Faculty who were completing their flight practice at the Orsk airfield.
The acting commander assigned a specific task to the captain-instructor, directing them to conduct training flights with their designated group of students aboard a Diamond DA40 NG aircraft. The registration number for this specific airframe is RA-02673. A flight mission form, numbered 2791, was approved by the acting commander. This document specified the activity as "training flights" and listed the captain-instructor as the pilot in command.
The investigation
The source material outlines the organizational framework governing these activities. According to the university's local regulatory documents, specifically the "Regulations on the Organization of Flight Work," a flight group is defined as a set of cadets assigned to a specific pilot-instructor by written order. The regulations mandate that the instructor is responsible for conducting preliminary preparation, the actual flights, and post-flight debriefings exclusively with their assigned group.
The review of the pre-flight procedures indicates that the necessary administrative steps were taken on February 1, including the approval of the flight mission form and the assignment of duties to the instructor. The text confirms that the preparations for the February 2 session were organized in accordance with the university's internal orders regarding the organization of educational flight practice for the 2026 academic year.