On July 28, 2024, a KOALA aircraft, registration RA-0897G, was involved in a fatal accident in the Malokarachayevsky District of Russia. The aircraft was being inspected at the Kislovodsk airfield by the owner and a buyer following a decision to sell the plane. The aircraft had been stored in a tent hangar at the non-operational airfield.
At approximately 08:00, the owner and the buyer arrived at the airfield. After inspecting the aircraft, both individuals entered the cockpit. Witness testimony indicates that the engine was started at approximately 09:30, after which the aircraft taxied around the airfield and moved a considerable distance to perform a takeoff run. No flight plan had been submitted to air traffic control authorities prior to the flight.
The aircraft took off at approximately 10:00. Witnesses observed the aircraft gaining altitude and then transitioning into a descent. At 10:06, the aircraft struck the top of a tree and subsequently collided with the ground.
The accident resulted in two fatalities. The buyer died at the scene before medical personnel arrived, and the owner passed away later at a medical facility.