Flight Plan and Preparation
On 14 January 2020, the pilot-in-command of a Robinson R-44 helicopter, registration RA-07385, submitted a flight plan for 15 January 2020. The planned route was from Heliport Reutov to the Volen zone and back to Heliport Reutov. The Moscow Zonal Center of the Air Traffic Management System approved the flight plan. The helicopter was based at Heliport Reutov under a basing agreement and underwent operational maintenance there. According to an arrangement, the flight to the Volen zone was to be conducted by a pilot who was an employee of StroyBiznes LLC and held a valid private pilot license with ratings for AS-350, R-44, and R-66 helicopters. The pilot-in-command who was on board at the time of the occurrence and another StroyBiznes employee were to fly as passengers.
Preflight and Departure
On 15 January 2020, the pilot (the StroyBiznes employee, hereinafter referred to as the pilot-in-command) verified the completion of preflight preparations. The investigation commission was presented with a work order dated 15 January 2020, number 04/01/20, for operational maintenance performed by the maintenance organization Heliport Engineering LLC. After conducting the preflight inspection, the pilot-in-command accepted the helicopter without any remarks. At the time of departure, the helicopter was fueled with 140 liters of 100LL aviation gasoline. A quality certificate for the fuel, number 22288 dated 12 December 2019, was provided to the commission. Due to the absence of medical support at Heliport Reutov, the pilot-in-command made the decision regarding fitness for flight independently. The weather forecast was obtained by the pilot-in-command from the OGIMET website. The forecast did not preclude the flight. At 07:00, the pilot-in-command decided to depart. At 07:10, he took off from Heliport Reutov with two passengers on board.
Flight and Landing
At 07:32, the pilot-in-command reported to the Sheremetyevo-Approach controller: "07385 now Volen, intermediate landing." The controller responded: "07385, landing noted, until departure." The landing was performed on a selected area in the Volen zone. After engine shutdown, the pilot-in-command (employee of StroyBiznes LLC) ... (the source text ends here).