Mi-8 wreckage found in Kamchatka, Emergencies Ministry plane sent to crash site
The wreckage of a missing Mi-8 helicopter was found in Kamchatka. The wreckage was discovered 900 meters from the place where the crew last contacted each other.
The wreckage of the Mi-8T was found near the Vachkazhets volcano. Deputy Chairman of the Kamchatka Krai Government Roman Vasilevsky told Shot that psychologists are working with all the relatives of the tourists who flew on the Mi-8T. All necessary documents were confiscated from the company that owned Vityaz-Aero. To the site of the Mi-8 crash directed additional aircraft of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the ground operation continues, said the head of the region Vladimir Solodov.
Photo: Alexey Nikolsky / RIA Novosti
Possible cause of crash named
As TASS was informed by emergency services, the helicopter crashed into a hill. Telegram– the Shot channel, citing its own data, also clarifies that the helicopter first hit a rock, after which the crash occurred.
Meanwhile, the disaster response headquarters reported “Interfax”that the crash of the Mi-8 could have been caused by a piloting error in foggy conditions.
The priority version is considered to be a piloting error in adverse weather conditions. In the fog, the pilot could have missed the hill and hit its slope
The Mi-8 helicopter belonging to Vityaz-Aero disappeared the previous morning in the area of the Vachkazhets mountain range, from where it had picked up tourists who were supposed to be delivered from the Vachkazhets volcano to the village of Nikolaevka. There were 22 people on board – 3 crew members and 19 passengers. As RIA Novosti was told by emergency services, none of those on board managed to escape. The search for the Mi-8 was complicated by weather conditions – it was impossible to find the helicopter from the air due to low clouds.
The Mi-8 was controlled by an experienced pilot
At the helm was Denis Bleshchik. His former colleague Alexey Astrotin told RT that Denis had all the necessary flight permits and had more than 12 years of work experience.
A competent pilot, always makes the right decisions. [авиакомпании] “Vityaz-Aero” doesn’t keep fools, they are all good specialists
Mash meanwhile wrotethat the Mi-8 had been in operation for 32 years. The Vityaz-Aero company bought it 11 years ago and named it after a local helicopter pilot, Vladimir Samarsky. Bleshchik took the helm. The aircraft received a certificate of fitness in 2022 for six years.
Related materials:
The RFU financial director was on board the helicopter
As it became known, the financial director of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Arseniy Zamyatin and his wife were on board the Mi-8 helicopter that went missing in Kamchatka. The RFU confirmed this information to RBC, noting that Zamyatin was supposed to go on a helicopter excursion to one of the volcanoes. Zamyatin has held the post of financial director of the RFU since the summer of 2020.
The Telegram channel “112” also published a full list of passengers on board the helicopter.
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