First ANSAT Helicopter for EMERCOM, Approval for COVID-19 Isolation Units Onboard

By Isaak Zulkarnaen

Russian Helicopters holding company (part of Rostec State Corporation) has announced that   obtained approval from the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) for installing isolation units in Ansat multipurpose helicopters to transport patients with COVID-19. The modules will be installed on helicopters in their medical version. This followed the handing over of the first Ansat helicopter for Russia’s EMERCOM (Emergency Control Ministry) North-Western Aviation and Rescue Center recently. 

“Currently, about 30 Ansat helicopters have been supplied to regions for air medical services. To improve their performance during the pandemic, we have launched certification process, and obtained permission for installing isolation units for transporting patients. This does not require modification of an aircraft. Such equipment will provide more opportunities to use an aircraft for medical purposes,” said Executive Director of Rostec Oleg Yevtushenko.Ansat helicopters are being used for air medical services, regularly making flights for medical evacuation day and night. The helicopters are used in the Moscow Region, the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Kirov Region, the Kostroma Region, the Tver Region, the Chelyabinsk Region, the Belgorod Region, the Volgograd Region, the Astrakhan Region, in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Helicopters said May 15.
“All work necessary for obtaining approval from Russian aviation authorities has been carried out within a short period of time. Ansat helicopter was primarily equipped with a cabin for patients with infectious diseases to facilitate operation of the existing aircraft already used for air medical services – it will be possible to use those aircraft for combating COVID-19, and transport patients who could have highly dangerous infections and viruses,” stated Director General of Russian Helicopters holding company Andrey Boginsky. Ansat is a light multipurpose twin-engine helicopter, which is in serial production at Kazan Helicopters. According to the helicopter certificate, its design allows converting it into a cargo version, or into a passenger rotorcraft that can lift up to seven people. In May 2015, a supplement to a type certificate for the modification of the helicopter with a medical module was obtained. Ansat is certified for use in the temperatures ranging between -45°С and +50°С, and in high mountains.

First Ansat Helicopter for Russia’s EMERCOM

Earlier on May 14 it was announced that one Ansat helicopter was handed over to the Fund supporting the development of state authorities in civil defence emergencies and elimination of consequences of natural disasters (the Fund). The helicopter has already been handed over to the North-Western Aviation and Rescue Center of EMERCOM and located on Kasimovo airfield,
Kazan Helicopters and the Fund signed the supply contract in March 2019. The Ansat handed over to the customer is in a universal version; the cabin has places for installing a medical module, and there are seven passenger seats. In the North-Western Aviation and Rescue Center, the Ansat will be used for transporting staff, cargo and equipment in the cabin or on an external sling, and to tackle special tasks, the holding company said.
Currently, the helicopter is in pilot familiarisation operations at the Center. During drills, pilots train to perform landing in various ways, piloting at low and extremely low altitudes, and master a new flying technique in various flight modes.
“Ansat is supplied to EMERCOM of Russia for the first time, and we are convinced that the agency specialists will appreciate it. The use of Ansat helicopters for air medical services has shown that their light weight, maneuverability, and agility, as well as a high degree of readiness for take-off, allow addressing a wide variety of tasks, including those in an urban environment. Due to cooperation of Rostec holding companies, the rotorcraft is constantly being improved, and new capabilities are being added: certificates for the emergency floatation system, and for installation of a complex for transporting newborn babies have recently been received, and other modules for Ansat have been designed,” said Yuri Pustovgarov, Managing Director of Kazan Helicopters.
As part of a programme to develop air medical services, about 30 helicopters have been supplied to customers, and they are being used for transporting patients from hard-to-reach areas to medical facilities. Ansat helicopters save people in the Moscow Region, the Volgograd Region, the Kurgan Region, the Kirov Region, the Kostroma Region, the Tver Region, the Pskov Region, the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Chelyabinsk Region, the Astrakhan Region, in the Republic of Tatarstan, etc. The number of regions where the helicopters are being used is constantly increasing.
In late 2019, two Mi-8MTV-1 helicopters made by Kazan Helicopters were also handed over to EMERCOM. Under the contract with the Fund, one of the helicopters is equipped with an external sling, which allows transporting large cargo weighing up to four tonnes. The second Mi-8MTV-1 helicopter is to be handed over to the Zhukovsky Aviation and Rescue Center. The multipurpose Mi-8MTV-1 helicopter can be used for rescue operations, medical evacuation, search for people who have suffered disasters, firefighting, reconnaissance and monitoring of terrain, and air transportation.

JSC“Russian Helicopters”, a part of Rostec State Corporation, is a leading player in the global helicopter industry, the sole Russian designer and manufacturer of helicopters. The Holding Company was established in 2007 and is headquartered in Moscow. Russian Helicopters operate five helicopter assembly plants, two design bureaus, component production and maintenance enterprises, aircraft repair plants and one helicopter service company providing after-sales support in Russia and abroad.