The Russian Helicopters holding company has completed the certification of the Mi-171A3 helicopter with import-independent components. A key result was obtaining approval for flights over large bodies of water — now the aircraft can operate in offshore mode, including transporting shift crews to offshore platforms.
The fully domestic Mi-171A3 has been certified, and previously imposed restrictions have been lifted. During certification, the prototypes completed more than 500 flights. The tests were conducted in extreme climatic and geographical conditions with simulated emergency situations. All of them were successfully completed, confirming the helicopter's compliance with the most stringent domestic and foreign safety requirements.
The flight test program covered several climatic zones: the mountainous regions of Kabardino-Balkaria, the polar conditions of Salekhard, and the waters of the Caspian Sea, where landings on a drilling platform were practiced.
Particular attention was paid to safety during certification. For the first time in Russian practice, the helicopter was equipped with a crash-resistant fuel system of domestic design. The system components underwent impact tests: in the event of a hard or emergency landing, the design of the tanks and pipelines minimizes the risk of fuel spillage and subsequent fire.
Mi-171A3 is a deep modernization of the proven Mi-171 platform with the replacement of foreign components with Russian analogues.
