A missing Robinson R66 helicopter with three people on board crashed in the Amur Region of Russia, local media have reported, citing the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The helicopter disappeared on September 16, 2024, during an unregistered flight across the Zeya District of the Amur Region. One pilot and two passengers were on board.
On the same evening the helicopter went missing, an emergency radio beacon signal was picked up, showing where the aircraft might be, Russian state news agency TASS reported. A Mi-8T helicopter from the Federal Air Transport Agency (FATA) was sent to search for the aircraft, local media reports continued.
On the morning of September 17, 2024, the Amur Center for Civil Protection and Fire Safety confirmed in a Telegram post that the Robinson R66 helicopter had been discovered crashed in the taiga close to the village of Zolotaya Gora.
“The helicopter was found, all three were killed. The helicopter was found in the same place where the [emergency] beacon was left,” a spokesperson told TASS.
TASS confirmed that the aircraft belonged to the gold mining company Hergu.
The Eastern Interregional Transport Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia has launched a criminal case regarding the missing helicopter.
