What happened
On July 10, 2018, a Z-142, registration RA-2397G, was prepared for a flight following a request from the aircraft owner to conduct an aerial tour for a passenger. The flight was operated under the authority of Vyatkaavia LLC, and flight plans for training maneuvers in Class C airspace had been approved by the Yekaterinburg Air Traffic Control Center.
The pilot arrived at the Kuchany landing site at 11:00 local time to prepare the aircraft and await the passenger. After a brief tour of the airfield equipment, the pilot and passenger boarded the aircraft at 09:30. Following engine warm-up and testing, the pilot received engine start clearance from Kirov-Start at 09:37 and taxied to the runway.
At 09:48, the aircraft departed the runway on a magnetic heading of 280°. The pilot performed a low-level pass over runway 07 at approximately 20 meters, initiating a climbing turn with a 20-degree climb angle. Shortly after, at 09:51:30, the pilot executed another pass over runway 10 at an extremely low altitude, also initiating a 20-degree climb. During the subsequent left-hand recovery from this climb, the aircraft experienced a bank angle exceeding 60 degrees accompanied by a loss of altitude, resulting in a collision with the ground. The impact caused significant damage to the aircraft, though no fire occurred.
The investigation
Investigators reviewed the sequence of events leading from the initial request for the flight to the moment of impact. The examination focused on the flight maneuvers performed at extremely low altitudes and the subsequent loss of control during the recovery phase.