The news that a private helicopter under the control of Igor Malinovsky did not get in touch at the appointed time came from Kamchatka the day before, on July 16th.
The search and rescue operation was delayed due to darkness, and it was hoped that the Robinson had only made an emergency landing.
However, on Sunday, the crash site was discovered - 13 km from the Uzon volcano.
On board, in addition to the pilot, there were two passengers.
None of them survived.
According to media reports, the car belonged to the Vzlyot company of Vladimir Malinovsky, the father of a former biathlete.
“The helicopter with two passengers and a pilot was on a private flight, the group was not registered as tourists.
Yesterday, low cloud cover and unfavorable weather for flights were observed in the area of the crash site.
The competent authorities are conducting an investigation and will establish the reasons for the departure and the circumstances of the crash, ”said Vladimir Solodov, Governor of the Kamchatka Territory, on his Telegram channel.
For the Russian biathlon, the death of a 25-year-old talented athlete was a real blow.
“Multiple junior world champion Igor Malinovsky died.
He loved biathlon and aviation.
After completing his sports career, Igor became a pilot and worked in his native Kamchatka.
The whole biathlon family mourns,” the Russian Biathlon Union said in an official statement.
According to the head coach of the men's national team Yuri Kaminsky, in the last 24 hours the team has been closely following the news, hoping that the worst fears will not be confirmed.
“We are all very sorry.
He was still a part of our men's team for quite a long time, showing great promise.
It is a pity first of all for a person, and secondly for an athlete.
As far as I know, he hesitated whether to leave biathlon or not, to concentrate only on flying or not.
I could completely return, reboot and perform.
The guy is still young, ”Match TV quotes Kaminsky.
In turn, the well-known coach Alexander Kasperovich, who recently headed the St. Petersburg national team, noted that Malinovsky has always been distinguished by a positive mood and a desire to fly.
“This is a very big loss for us.
Moreover, this boy came to us quite young in the team.
I went through training, and practically, you know how they torn off their own child, ”admitted Kasperovich.
“We are sorry that such an accident happened.
Condolences to all.
It is very difficult to say something now... Our whole life is very risky.
Anything can happen.
I don't even know how it all happened.
I just can't believe this has happened.
We knew this guy very well.
And now it is before my eyes how he first came to us for a training camp in Ulyanovsk.
Everything is flying in my head now, ”he added.
Former RBU President Vladimir Drachev called the incident a tragedy for the sport and the country.
“The man was outstanding and gifted in his field, after all, there are not so many five-time world champions, albeit in juniors.
So obviously he was stronger than his peers.
Unfortunately, I chose a profession with great risk.
We will grieve for a wonderful person, ”said the specialist.
He noted that during the transition to adult sports, Malinovsky burned out.
In addition, his development as a biathlete was hampered by injuries.
“The main problem was the back.
This did not allow a person to open up, although he worked harder than anyone else.
We are very sorry.
He left sports for a wonderful profession, which many boys have dreamed of since childhood, ”said Drachev.
Condolences in social networks were expressed by many domestic athletes, including Irina Kazakevich, Anastasia Goreeva, Yulia Stupak.
The pilot's father posted a photo of his son with a laconic caption: “Igor.
You will always be alive."
"It was a childhood dream"
Igor Malinovsky was born in March 1997 in the village of Milkovo in Kamchatka, where he began to engage in cross-country skiing and then biathlon.
But the guy was always attracted to the sky.
His father is a professional pilot and his son wanted to follow in his footsteps.
“It was my dream since childhood,” he said.
At the age of 17, the young man entered the Omsk Flight Technical College of Civil Aviation and, as he later admitted, was going to focus on his studies and leave biathlon as a hobby.
“But it so happened that at my very first away competitions I performed great, fulfilled (standard. -
RT
) a master of sports and was selected for the first international competitions.
Thanks to this, I continued the biathlon business, ”said the athlete.
At the 2016 Under-18 World Championships, he won three medals: a gold and two silvers.
A year later, Igor added three gold medals of the junior world championship to his piggy bank, and the next season he won two more victories in similar competitions.
One of them was in the relay, where he performed together with the current collections Karim Khalili and Vasily Tomshin.
But, even achieving significant success in sports, Malinovsky did not leave thoughts about a flying career.
“I understand that I am faced with a choice.
While studying, I try to do biathlon.
But in the future I dream of becoming a pilot, ”he said in an interview.
The transition of an athlete from juniors to adult competitions was not very successful.
His best result at the World Cup was 61st place in the sprint in 2018.
Not everything went smoothly in his studies because of the need to combine it with tournaments and training camps - Igor even took academic leave.
As a result, the young man had to make the final choice.
“One rainy day during a training camp, I woke up with a desire to fly.
It was a vision or something like that, where I was told: if you do not have time to finish your flight college now, then you will not be able to do it ever again.
You won’t be able to get your long-awaited pilot’s license, and in general you’ll hardly ever become a pilot, ”said Malinovsky in an interview with KamchatkaMedia.
“I woke up and thought: sport is, of course, cool, but sooner or later it comes to an end.
And then what?
And then I wanted to be a pilot.
Pilots, however, like athletes, are superstitious people, so I succumbed to this providence and switched to aviation, ”he added.
The last time the athlete went to the biathlon track was in January 2021.
And last spring he finally graduated from the flight school and received a pilot's license.
At the same time, he was not going to part with biathlon completely: he planned to keep fit and perform at regional competitions.
And I wanted to work only in Kamchatka.
"Needed where was born.
Moreover, I feel that I can contribute and benefit people.
Many ideas, many ambitions, we will try, ”said the young man.