| Polar Airlines Flight 9949 | |
| Image Upright: | 1.1 |
| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Summary: | Controlled Flight into Terrain due to pilot error |
| Site: | Deputatsky, Sakha Republic, Russia |
| Aircraft Type: | Mil Mi-8 |
| Operator: | Polar Airlines |
| Tail Number: | RA-22657 |
| Occupants: | 28 |
| Passengers: | 25 |
| Crew: | 3 |
| Fatalities: | 24 |
| Injuries: | 4 |
| Survivors: | 4 |
On 2 July 2013, Polar Airlines Flight 9949, a Mil Mi-8 helicopter operated by Polar Airlines crashed near Deputatsky, an urban locality of Ust-Yansky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, with 25 passengers (including 11 children) and three crew members on board.[1] [2] According to a Ministry of Emergency Situations spokesman, 24 people died in the crash; the three crew members and a child survived.[3] Early reports suggested that the pilot lost control of the helicopter due to strong winds. The crash was investigated by the Interstate Aviation Committee.[4]
At 10:00 PM local time, the flight crew underwent a pre-flight medical exam at the local hospital in the village of Deputatsky, with no health concerns noted the crew were cleared to operate the flight, which was scheduled for 11:00 PM local time. The flight mechanic refueled the helicopter with 2800 liters of ice resistant fuel. At 10:30 PM, the pilots received the meteorological forecast for the route, seeing no concerns he signed it off.
At 11:38 PM, the Pilot in Command requested to take-off using Visual flight rules, and to start their engines, they received confirmation for both. At 11:51 PM, flight 9949 received take-off clearance 51 minutes past the scheduled departure time, soon after the flight lifted off making a right hand turn. At 11:58:46 PM, the flight crew reported their status to the dispatch office, this was the last radio communication from flight 9949.
At 12:13 AM, the helicopter crashed into an elevated outcropping, completely destroying the aircraft. At 12:34, the PIC using a satellite phone called to report the crash, and that there were some survivors but many more fatalities. In total all 3 crew members and 1 passenger survived the crash.[5]