On 31 August 2024, a Mil Mi-8 helicopter operating a scheduled charter flight crashed in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, killing all 22 people on board.

The aircraft, which was operated by Vityaz-Aero on a sightseeing tour over the Vachkazhets [ru] volcano, crashed in poor weather shortly after take-off.

[6] Vityaz-Aero had acquired the aircraft 11 years prior, naming it after local helicopter pilot Vladimir Samarsky.

The aircraft had received an air operator's certificate, lasting for six years, on 1 March 2022, which was due to expire on 17 February 2028.

[7]: 18 There were 19 passengers on board the flight returning from a trip to the extinct Vachkazhets volcano that had been organized by the Kamchatka Freeride Community and Moscow-based tour operator company Bolshaya Strana.

[9] Among those on board was Arseny Zamyatin, the chief financial officer of the Russian Football Union; his wife, Polina Zamyatina;[9][10][11] Kirill Seregin, one of the leaders of the Kamchatka Freeride Community, a locally well-known extreme sports enthusiast as well as an experienced guide, and Mikhail Repnikov and Yulia Repnikova, the founders of Bolshaya Strana.

[13] The Kamchatka Department of Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring reported that fog and drizzle were present in the area of the accident.

[14] The wreckage was found in a hilly area at an elevation of 900 metres (3,000 ft) near the point of the last communication, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from its destination at Nikolayevka, Yelizovsky District.

[15] On 2 September, the ministry reported that the bodies of all 22 on board had been found and transferred to the forensic examination authorities in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, with the search and rescue operation being announced as completed.