Flight Details
On 15 September 2024, the aircraft commander of an R66 helicopter (registration RA-07424) flew from the base landing site "Pogranichnaya 2" near Blagoveshchensk to a landing site selected from the air in the settlement of Sardangro, Zeya District, Amur Region. The commander was an employee of OOO "Khergu", the owner of the helicopter. According to the general director of OOO "Antracit", a contract for free use of the aircraft had been signed between OOO "Khergu" and OOO "Antracit" on 15 January 2024. OOO "Antracit" is a gold mining company with a mine in Sardangro.
The flight on 15 September lasted 1 hour 38 minutes, with takeoff at 16:15 local time. The maximum distance from the landing site was approximately 43 km. The general director stated that he and the commander conducted the flight to survey the territory, after which the commander went to rest.
Preflight and Planning
On 16 September 2024, the commander performed the preflight maintenance of the helicopter. Flights were planned to be conducted in class G airspace. However, the required notification to air traffic control (ATC) authorities was not filed. This violates the Russian Federation Airspace Use Rules (FAP), specifically paragraphs 124 and 147. Paragraph 124 requires users of class G airspace to notify the appropriate ATC bodies of their activities, and paragraph 147 lists flights without such notification as a violation of airspace usage rules.
Additionally, the commander did not have a power of attorney for control of the aircraft, as required by paragraph 2.20 of the Federal Aviation Rules (FAP-128).
Ownership and Purpose
The helicopter was owned by OOO "Khergu" but was used by OOO "Antracit" under a free-use agreement. The flight operations were conducted in support of gold mining activities in the remote Sardangro area.
No further details or incidents were reported.