Mi-8 crash near the village of Yermakovskoye

The Mi-8 crash near the village of Yermakovskoye was an aviation accident that occurred in Krasnoyarsk Krai on 28 April 2002, as a result of which the governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Alexander Ivanovich Lebed, was killed. On that day Alexander Lebed, together with members of his administration, set off for the opening of a new ski run in Yermakovsky District in the south of Krasnoyarsk Krai on a Mi-8AMT helicopter operated by a crew of the airline Yeniseysky Meridian.

At 10:15 local time the helicopter fell from a height of about 30 m after colliding with a power line wire near the M-54 Yenisey highway (Abakan — Kyzyl section), 100 km from the district centre — the village of Yermakovskoye. Transport police officers on duty on the highway witnessed the tragedy. Eight people were killed in the crash, including Lebed, who died on the way to hospital in Abakan.

A special commission headed by the Minister of Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu was set up to investigate the crash. The state commission concluded that the cause of the crash was "unsatisfactory preparation of the crew for the flight". In 2004 flight commander Akhmerov was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, and pilot Kurilovich was given a three-year suspended sentence with a probation period of two years.

Crash

According to Polushin, the pilots received the flight assignment on 26 April, and on the 27th the crew prepared the only VIP helicopter in the krai for departure.

On 28 April 2002 the governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Alexander Lebed, and his entourage set off on a Mi-8AMT helicopter for the opening of a new ski run in the Eastern Sayan Mountains. The helicopter was travelling on the route Cheremshanka airport — Sosny landing site — settlement of Yermakovskoye — Lake Oyskoye area. The helicopter was carrying 17 passengers, among them Governor Lebed, representatives of the krai administration, film crews of the Krasnoyarsk State Television and Radio Company "Tsentr Rossii" and Channel 7, as well as employees of several Krasnoyarsk newspapers.

At the time of departure the weather at the point of departure was acceptable. During the flight the crew made two intermediate landings; on the first two sections of the route the weather conditions remained satisfactory, but after the second landing the weather deteriorated — fog and low cloud appeared. In the opinion of MAK experts, in these conditions the crew should have returned to the place of the last landing or found another suitable place to land.

According to Polushin, in 2001, when Lebed was inspecting agricultural work in practically the same place and on the same helicopter, a deterioration in the weather forced the crew to land.

The helicopter crashed at about 06:15 Moscow time (10:15 local time) in the south of Yermakovsky District, 50 km from the settlement of Aradan, after colliding with a power line wire near the M-54 Yenisey highway, 100 km from the district centre — the village of Yermakovskoye. The fall occurred from a height of about 30 m.

governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai Alexander Lebed;

deputy governor for social affairs Nadezhda Kolba;

head of Yermakovsky District Vasily Rogovoy;

head of the tourism department Lev Chernov;

cameraman of the programme "IKS" of KGTRK "Tsentr Rossii" Igor Gareyev;

correspondent of "Segodnyashnyaya Gazeta" Konstantin Stepanov;

employee of the Shushenskoye sanatorium Andrei Kondinsky;

correspondent of "Channel 7" Natalya Pivovarova.