Mi-8 crash in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug on 2 July 2008

Investigation

The investigation was conducted by a commission of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC). In the final report, published in March 2009, the cause of the crash was given as a hard touchdown of the helicopter with a high vertical speed and an unarrested horizontal speed.

A definitive cause of the crash was not established. The commission considered several possible factors that could have led to the hard landing:

Crew error: a late and vigorous increase in the collective pitch of the main rotor, leading to a sharp drop in rpm.

Exceeding the landing weight for the given conditions (including the possible influence of the “air cushion” at the site).

A sudden change in wind strength or direction near the ground.

Failure of one of the engines with partial loss of power.

An aggravating factor was a design feature of the Mi-8 — the lack of protection of the cargo and passenger cabin from the disintegration of the engines' free turbines, which led to the instantaneous spread of the fire.

In October 2008 the management of UTair refused to pay compensation to the crew members, stating that the pilots had been under the influence of alcohol, although the official IAC investigation did not confirm this. Representatives of the crew and their acquaintances called this an attempt by the airline to evade responsibility. UTair press secretary Yury Mushikhin stated that the company was not authorised to comment on the progress of the investigation.

A criminal case was opened over the accident under part 3 of article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation of air transport safety rules”). As of March 2009, the investigation had not identified those responsible.