The crash of Mi-2 near Olekminsk

The Mi-2 helicopter with the tail number of the USSR-20063 (serial number 510744088, built in 1969 ) carried out transport flights to evacuate the inhabitants of Killah Island due to ice jams on the Lena River. Piloted his crew, consisting of the commander (FAC)B. T. Ippolitov and navigator A. Ya. Nechaev . The first flight was successful. However, in the second, 26 passengers boarded: 7 adults, 8 schoolchildren and 11 preschoolers. At the same time, take-off weight was exceeded by 475 kilograms. Then the pilot hovered at a low altitude and began to accelerate towards the river. But when the Mi-2 reached the edge of the cliff, the "air cushion" disappeared beneath it, which also sharply reduced the lift . Having descended over the river, the helicopter hit the coast with a tail rotor . Having lost control, the car spun to the left, fell onto the ice and rolled over, and after 10-15 minutes it sank. In the incident, both crew members and one adult passenger survived. All other 25 passengers (6 adults and 19 children) died ^[1] . The helicopter pilot did not live to see the trial; he died under unclear circumstances during the investigation. The navigator pleaded guilty and was sentenced by a republican court of the Yakut ASSR to capital punishment, later the sentence was appealed to the Supreme Court of the RSFSR and was commuted to eight years in prison.

The culprit of the disaster was the crew who violated the requirements of documents and instructions on the piloting technique ^[1] .