On 2 July 2013, Polar Airlines Flight 9949, a Mil Mi-8 helicopter operated by Polar Airlines crashed near Deputatsky, an urban locality of Ust-Yansky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, with 25 passengers (including 11 children) and three crew members on board.

[2][3] According to a Ministry of Emergency Situations spokesman, 24 people died in the crash; the three crew members and a child survived.

[4] Early reports suggested that the pilot lost control of the helicopter due to strong winds.

At 11:38 PM, the Pilot in Command requested to take-off using Visual flight rules, and to start their engines, they received confirmation for both.

At 12:34, the PIC using a satellite phone called to report the crash, and that there were some survivors but many more fatalities.