Date:	Saturday 31 August 2024
Time:	16:07 LT
Type:	Mil Mi-8T
Owner/operator:	Vityaz Aero
Registration:	RA-25656
MSN:	99254295
Year of manufacture:	1992
Total airframe hrs:	4495 hours
Engine model:	Klimov TV2-117AG
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 22 / Occupants: 22
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	c 20 km W of Nikolaevka, Kamchatka Krai -   Russia
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi
Departure airport:	Vachkazhets Volcano
Destination airport:	Nikolaevka-Vityaz-Aero Heliport
Investigating agency:	MAK
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A Mi-8 helicopter operated by Vityaz Aero struck a mountainside at an elevation of 974 m after taking off from the Vachkazhets volcano in Kamchatka Krai, Russia. All occupants 22 have died.

The helicopter had been chartered to fly groups of passengers to and from the Vachkazhets Volcano, from the base at Nikolaevka, close to the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy.
The helicopter arrived at at the volcano at 15:29 hours local time. After about 30 minutes it was prepared for the short flight back to Nikolaevka with 19 passengers and three crew members on board. Engines were started at 16:00 and the helicopter took off at 16:04. It climbed to an altitude of 1485 m to cross some mountains. While descending, the helicopter impacted the side of a mountain and burst into flames.
At the time of the accident there was an overcast cloud layer over the mountains.

Conclusion:
The aviation accident involving the Mi-8T helicopter RA-25656 occurred during the day, while flying in mountainous terrain under conditions of limited visibility due to the aircraft colliding with the ground surface (mountain slope). Contributing factors to the accident were:
- the flight crew's decision to fly in meteorological conditions that did not meet visual flight rules;
- the flight crew's decision to descend in conditions of limited visibility in mountainous terrain;
- deficiencies in the preventative measures by officials of LLC AK "VITYAZ-AERO" regarding flight safety.

https://tass.com/emergencies/1836521
https://tvzvezda.ru/news/20248311033-2x8sQ.html
https://tvzvezda.ru/news/20248311226-UhJjU.html
https://tvzvezda.ru/news/20248311430-eltyU.html
https://t.me/vsolodovbrief/4214
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/6932047?from=top_main_1
https://t.me/mchs_official/21758
https://t.me/mchs_official/21762
https://t.me/mchs_official/21809
https://t.me/aviatorshina/5148
https://t.me/shot_shot/70896
https://t.me/shot_shot/70897
https://t.me/shot_shot/70903
https://t.me/shot_shot/70904
https://mak-iac.org/rassledovaniya/mi-8t-ra-25656-31-08-2024/
Preliminary Report: https://mak-iac.org/upload/iblock/156/3kginlbgapldkh67gb1w1840pa3i7kwd/report_ra-25656.pdf
Final Report: https://mak-iac.org/upload/iblock/7cf/4a9joun1olwys96auj7ae2ztivv1s5n2/report_ra-25656.pdf

Photo: MAK

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
31-Aug-2024 08:01	gerard57	Added
31-Aug-2024 08:06	gerard57	Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, ]
31-Aug-2024 09:13	Aerossurance	Updated [Narrative, ]
31-Aug-2024 14:19	Anon.	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ]
01-Sep-2024 09:52	ASN	Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source, Damage, Narrative, ]
01-Sep-2024 10:01	ASN	Updated [Location, Destination airport, Category, ]
01-Sep-2024 10:03	ASN	Updated [Registration, Cn, Source, ]
01-Sep-2024 10:20	vasilf	Updated [Embed code, ]
01-Sep-2024 11:26	Signor Pignolini	Updated [Total occupants, Narrative, ]
01-Sep-2024 14:16	Signor Pignolini	Updated [Total fatalities, Source, Narrative, ]
01-Sep-2024 17:19	Bandit	Updated [Narrative, ]
02-Sep-2024 08:54	ASN	Updated [Narrative, ]
16-Oct-2024 14:21	Hirurg	Updated [Time, Source, ]
16-Oct-2024 14:33	ASN	Updated [Time, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ]
16-Oct-2024 14:46	ASN	Updated [Embed code, Narrative, Photo, ]
26-Mar-2025 09:13	Hirurg	Updated [Source, ]
26-Mar-2025 09:15	ASN	Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ]
26-Mar-2025 09:17	ASN	Updated