Flight Plan and Charter Agreement
On May 28, 2024, a Mi-8T helicopter (tail number RA-24653) was scheduled to perform cargo transport flights under a charter agreement dated April 30, 2024 (No. 01/24653-2024) between JSC "Serebro Ponoya +" (the customer) and LLC "MURMANAVIA" (the airline). The planned route was from the Murmashi landing site to Lovozero, then to Pacha, onward to Acha, and thereafter returning to Murmashi.
Airspace Authorization
An application for the use of airspace in Classes C and G was submitted on May 27, 2024, in accordance with established procedures. Authorization was granted by the Regional Center of the Unified Air Traffic Management System (Saint Petersburg).
Pre-Flight Activities
On May 28, 2024, at 07:40, the crew arrived at the Murmashi landing site and commenced pre-flight preparations. A pre-flight medical examination of the captain and crew members was not conducted at the site. The captain made the decision regarding crew fitness for flight, a practice consistent with paragraph 8.10.1 of the Federal Aviation Rules (FAP-128), which allows such decisions by the captain when a medical professional is unavailable at the departure aerodrome or landing site.
Weather Information
According to the captain's account, meteorological information and a weather forecast were obtained from internet sources: specifically, data from the website www.windy.com and an area forecast (GAMET) from metavia2. The captain noted that the forecast conditions permitted the flight as planned and that no hazardous weather phenomena were predicted along the route.
Aircraft Preparation
The pre-flight preparation of the helicopter was carried out by specialists of LLC "MURMANAVIA" on May 28, 2024, as documented in work order No. 18 dated that day.