Commission to investigate helicopter crash-landing in Kamchatka.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, December 30 (Itar-Tass) - A commission of
the Interstate Aviation Committee of the CIS /Russian acronym MAK/ is
getting down to investigation of the crash-landing that a MI-8T helicopter
made December 29 in the Kamchatka territory's Bystrinski district, the
press service of the territorial government said Wednesday.

MAK experts will go to the site of the accident to probe into the
circumstances and to examine the aircraft itself.
Also, they will scrutinize all the documentation regarding the flight.
The MI-8T that belonged to the Koryak Airlines was making a commercial
flight with 2.5 tons of foodstuffs aboard between the towns of Anavgai and
Tigil about noon Tuesday in clear weather when the three-strong crew made
a sudden emergency landing 70 kilometers away from the town of Esso, the
district center.
The captain died as a result and two pilots sustained heavy injuries.
The territorial Office of Transport Prosecutor has launched its own
inquiry into the accident and the prosecution officials will report their
findings to investigation agencies.
According to the information from the Ministry for Emergency
Situations and Civil Defense, the helicopter was damaged seriously, too.
More specifically, heavy damage was done to the fuselage and the cockpit.
At the time of reporting, the causes of the accident were still
unknown.
The two surviving pilots were taken to the district hospital in Esso
and the doctors were planning their transportation to the central
territorial hospital in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. They will be evacuated
from Esso as soon as weather gets good enough for a helicopter of the
disaster medicine center to perform a special flight.
The physicians supervising the pilots said the two men's physical
condition was good enough for transportation to the territorial capital,
from which Esso is separated by a distance of about 500 kilometers.
The Kamchatka territory government has pledged all the necessary
assistance to victims of the accident and their families.
-0-kle