Crew and Flight Planning
The crew of Mi-8MTV-1 helicopter RA-25492, operated by UTair Aviation, was scheduled for a transport and liaison flight on December 18, 2007. The crew consisted of the aircraft commander (PIC), co-pilot, flight mechanic, flight engineer-instructor, and flight attendant. The flight was to transport passengers based on a request from the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). The flight plan was prepared by the MONUC Air Transport Section, and the crew composition was assigned by the air group commander.
Flight planning for aircraft servicing the UN mission in the DRC is carried out by the MONUC flight operations section. The procedure requires that, the day before departure, the section submits an application to the aviation authorities via UN channels, indicating the route and UN-assigned call sign for each aircraft. After approval, a flight schedule is issued with route, times, stopovers, and passenger/cargo loads. The schedule is coordinated with the air group commander and distributed to relevant MONUC services and crews.
Pre-flight Procedures
The flight was planned to depart at 08:30. The crew began pre-flight preparations at Goma Airport at 07:30 in the flight operations section's dispatch office. The aircraft commander, based on an oral inquiry and pre-flight rest, authorized the crew for the flight, documenting this in the flight assignment in accordance with NP-GA-85 paragraph 4.12.5. Additionally, an aviation risk management checklist (UN documentation) was completed and submitted to the duty officer of the air operations section.