What happened
On November 28, 2016, a Robinson R-44, registration RA-04195, was scheduled to perform a flight starting near the Yalta-Intourist hotel in Yalta, Crimea. The planned route included a waypoint at 44°30' N, 034°14' E, and a destination at 45°05' N, 034°38' E, near Belogorsk. The flight was intended to carry the pilot and two passengers.
The pilot, who was also one of the aircraft owners, had submitted a flight plan request to the Rostov ACC the previous day, November 27, 2016. At 04:30 on the morning of the flight, the pilot received authorization for the flight from the Simferopol air traffic services dispatcher via telephone.
The investigation
Investigators reviewed the flight planning documentation and communications. Records from the Crimea Navigation branch confirmed that the flight plan for RA-04195 was transmitted from the Rostov ACC to the Simferopol Center on November 27, 2016, at 12:28 UTC. Telephone logs also confirmed the verbal authorization provided to the pilot early on the morning of the accident.