What happened
On July 6, 2020, an aircraft was operating out of a site near the village of Kirsallovo in the Proletarsky district of the Rostov region. The aircraft was performing agricultural work under a service agreement between the pilot in command and LLC Energia. During a flight on July 5, 2020, the pilot reported hearing an impact in the rear left beam area near the engine, which he identified as a slipping one-way clutch. Although the engine remained running, the pilot requested a maintenance specialist to replace the clutches.
The maintenance specialist inspected the aircraft after the July 5 landing but did not perform the replacement, stating that the clutch was functioning correctly and offering to fly with the pilot to demonstrate its stability. On July 6, 2020, at approximately 04:35 local time, the pilot and the maintenance specialist (acting as a passenger) started the engines. No technical issues were noted prior to departure.
The aircraft took off at approximately 04:39 local time. The flight was intended to consist of a short left-hand pattern within 1 km of the flight path. After taking off into the wind and climbing to a height of approximately 30–35 meters at a speed of about 70 km/h, the pilot initiated the first left turn. During this maneuver, the engine shut down. Due to the terrain and obstacles, the pilot was forced to perform an emergency landing directly ahead of the aircraft's path.
The investigation
Investigators examined the sequence of events following the pilot's report of a mechanical impact during the previous day's flight. The investigation looked into the maintenance specialist's decision to forgo the replacement of the one-way clutches and the subsequent flight operations in Class G airspace without prior notification to the Rostov Control Center.