What happened
On November 5, 2010, at approximately 05:00 UTC, a student pilot, who also owned the aircraft, arrived at the Chistoozyornaya landing site to conduct training exercises. The aircraft, operated by Sigma Classic, was inspected and prepared for flight under the direction of an instructor pilot. The initial training objectives, as reported by the student pilot, involved practicing techniques for penetrating cloud layers through gaps and performing cloud avoidance maneuvers.
The first flight lasted roughly 30 minutes, reaching altitudes of up to 1,500 meters. Following this, the student pilot performed two landings at the Chistoozyornaya site to practice piloting skills after a period of inactivity. A second flight of approximately 30 minutes followed, which focused on practicing landings at unfamiliar sites identified from the air. During this segment, the crew performed simulated approaches to two former agricultural landing sites. Due to an earthen embankment at the first site, the crew performed a simulated landing with a fly-by. At the second site, they executed several fly-bys and one landing that involved touching the ground before taking off again without stopping.
After returning to the home base, the aircraft was inspected and refueled. At the request of the student pilot, the instructor planned a subsequent flight lasting approximately three hours, covering a route between Usman and Uryupinsk and back to Usman. As part of the training, the instructor tasked the student pilot with calculating the required fuel load using the Odyssey flight management system. However, the crew did not use a map to plot the route or input the flight plan into the system.