UTair Aviakompaniya OAO (ADR) : UTair suspends flight operations of Mil-26 helicopters

In response to the unfortunate incident of December 20 involving a UTair Mi-26 helicopter, UTair Aviation has suspended all operations with Mi-26 helicopters in Russia and abroad until further notice. UTair is the world's largest operator of Mil Mi-26 helicopters.

The airline intends to carry out an in-depth investigation to the tail beams of all Mi-26 helicopters to assess the possibility of structural defects in the aircraft. Resumption of operations with M-25 helicopters will be determined for each helicopter individually on the basis of these inspections.

UTair asks its customers to understand the precautionary measures which necessitate the downtime for these aircraft.

Safety is a top priority for UTair and such inspections form a part of UTair procedures to guarantee world class flight safety and reliability. The unscheduled inspections are planned to be completed in just a few days.

On December 20, 2011 an Mi-26 helicopter belonging the Nefteyugansk division of UTair Airlines experienced an hard landing 250 km south of Surgut in the Khanty Mansi Autonomous region. As a result of the incident, one crew was killed. According to preliminary information, a defect in the fuselage could have been the cause of the crash. Circumstances of the accident are under investigation by a commission from the Interstate Aviation Committee.

UTair Aviation is the leading helicopter operator in the world with more than 350 domestic and foreign built helicopters in operation. The airline operates 26 Mi-26 helicopters, the largest helicopters in the world in internal cargo and passenger capacity.