[1] The airport was gradually expanded with new infrastructure,[2] with the first hangar having a capacity of 700 square meters (7,500 sq ft).

After 1974 the Soviet Union stated that the regulations were in violation of the Svalbard Treaty allowing free shipping.

The condition was that the airport be built with capacity to allow Aeroflot to operate flights to Moscow.

[1] Following a Jon Michelet article in Klassekampen in 1976 there was a major interest by the Norwegian press concerning the heliport.

[7] Rumor spread concerning that the airport was illegal and that it was a military installation which in a short time could be transformed into an air base.

[10] There were also speculations that the heliport was planned expanded to a full-length runway which could support fixed-winged aircraft.

[12] Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, subsidies and resources allocated to Svalbard and Arktikugol were diminished.

[14] The heliport is situated at Heerodden, a peninsula 3.5 kilometers (2.2 mi) north of the town of Barentsburg,[12] at an elevation of 25 meters (82 ft) above mean sea level.

Due to the language barrier, there is no radio communication between the helicopters and heliport on the one side, and Svalbard Airport, Longyear on the other.

[15] They are based at the heliport and provide transport services for Arktikugol and the Consulate-General of Russia in Barentsburg for flights to Pyramiden and to Longyearbyen.

There had been recent heavy snowfalls at the airport and as the helicopter came into land, its rotor wash disturbed the loose snow, causing the pilots to lose their visual references in what was effectively a highly localised blizzard.

The helicopter's course deviated 100 metres (330 ft) beyond the runway, at an angle of 50 degrees, and crashed into the smaller hangar.