2010 Yakutsk Mi-8T Hard Landing Incident (RA-24655)

Flight Details and Route Context On December 19, 2010, the crew of a Mi-8T helicopter, registration RA-24655, operated by OOO 'Aviakompaniya Yamal', was conducting commercial air transport operations for flight YL-9804. The flight was performed on behalf of the 'Yamalgeofizika-Zapad' branch of OAO 'Integra-Geofizika' to deliver passengers and cargo to the settlement of Sabetta. The planned route was Salekhard – Labitnangi – '267km' – Seyakha – Sabetta – Seyakha – '267km' – Labitnangi – Salekhard, with refueling scheduled at the '267km' site and in Seyakha. ## Operational Sequence The helicopter departed Salekhard at 03:44. At 03:56, it arrived at the Labitnangi landing site, where 15 passengers were disembarked and 1,214 kg of cargo was loaded. The crew took off from Labitnangi at 04:10 to proceed to the '267km' site. The helicopter's takeoff weight and center of gravity remained within permissible limits. The flight was conducted at night at an altitude of 500 meters under visual flight rules. After twilight began, the crew reduced the altitude to 300 meters due to strong headwinds. Throughout the flight, the crew reported no issues with the aircraft's technical condition. ## Incident Circumstances At 05:33, while approaching the '267km' landing site, the pilot-in-command began pre-landing preparations. At 05:40, after inspecting the site, the pilot-in-command reported over the radio: '24655, approaching 267km, left 360 degrees.' The approach was conducted over snow-covered tundra under polar twilight conditions, 50 minutes after sunrise. At 05:43, 380 meters from the '267km' landing site, a hard landing occurred.