On February 28, 2020, a Robinson R-44, registration RA-04МУ04246, was involved in a fatal accident in the Astrakhan Oblast, approximately 86 km northwest of the Astrakhan airport control tower. The flight was part of a series of operations scheduled for the day, departing from the 'Raskat' landing site in the Kamysyak district.
The aircraft was based at the 'Ezoka' landing site in the Volgograd region. Earlier that morning, the pilot had completed a flight from 'Ezoka' to 'Raskat' and had performed two additional flights from 'Raskat' between 11:00 and 18:50, totaling approximately seven hours of flight time. The pilot performed his own pre-flight maintenance and refueling at the 'Raskat' site.
The return flight from 'Raskat' to 'Ezoka' departed at approximately 19:00. The flight was planned to take place in Class G airspace, and no notification was provided to air traffic control authorities. Following takeoff, an observer on the ground reported hearing the helicopter, followed by an explosion and fire.
Due to the death of the pilot and a lack of objective data, the flight history was reconstructed from third-party statements. It was noted that the pilot had received no more than three hours of rest prior to the morning flight.