What happened
On June 16, 2015, an An-2 aircraft, registration RA-0390A, was involved in an aviation accident in the Astrakhan region of Russia. The aircraft, owned by the company EVS "Sapsan," was scheduled to perform agricultural spraying operations to combat locusts in the Zyuzino area of the Ikryaninsky District. The aircraft was based at the "Sinaya Ptitsa" fishing and hunting base in the Kharabalinsky District.
While the owner had arranged for a qualified pilot to perform the spraying tasks, a Kazakhstani citizen who was visiting the base was instead tasked with repositioning the aircraft. This individual, who had approximately 200 hours of undocumented flight time on X-32 "Bekas" aircraft but lacked official certification to fly the An-2, agreed to ferry the plane from the base to the work site. On the afternoon of the accident, the individual performed routine maintenance and refueled the aircraft with 40 liters of AI-95 gasoline. At 15:30, the pilot took off to begin the flight toward Zyuzino.
The investigation
Investigators examined the circumstances surrounding the flight authorization and the pilot's credentials. It was determined that the individual operating the aircraft did not possess the necessary legal documentation or flight permits to operate the An-2. The investigation also looked into the owner's role in requesting an uncertified individual to perform the repositioning flight.