What happened
In early 2016, a pilot who had been removed from the Ministry of Internal Affairs aviation fleet in the Chechen Republic began seeking employment as an R-44 pilot. Following an interview with the administration of LLC Mercury, the pilot underwent a 50-minute flight evaluation. Due to a gap in his flight experience with this specific aircraft type, it was decided that the pilot required additional training to practice emergency procedures.
On May 2, 2016, the pilot traveled to Saint Petersburg to meet with a staff pilot from LLC Mercury for a scheduled test flight. On May 3, 2016, the pilot arrived at the Lakhta landing site, which served as the base for the R-44, registration RA-06364. Because the designated instructor was unable to attend that day, a decision was made via telephone by a company representative to proceed with the flight using a different staff pilot.
The investigation
The investigation examined the organizational procedures of LLC Mercury regarding the flight on May 3, 2016. The company failed to provide the commission with documentation explaining how the flight was organized or the reasoning behind the decision-making process regarding the flight's scope. Furthermore, the investigation found that the flight plan was transmitted via the internet to a pilot who was not the intended recipient. While this pilot held a valid permit from the Saint Petersburg Government Transport Committee for using restricted airspace, the updated permit issued on April 26, 2016, had not been properly communicated to him by the company administration.