In preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, a Ka-226T light multipurpose helicopter developed by the Russian Helicopters company has completed a series of successful trial SAR missions.

Test flights of the aircraft equipped with a medical module took place in the Krasnaya Polyana region near Sochi. Flights were conducted with the rescue service of Rosengineering Operation which provides services for the maintenance of ski resorts, senior engineers from Russian Helicopters' flight test facility and medical personnel from the Southern Regional Center for Emergency Medicine. Head doctor Igor Deryugin noted the comfort and safety of loading a victim onboard and that the medical module: “Allows full-scale medical help inflight, including extended resuscitation procedures and necessary invasive procedures.”

Pilot Yury Timofeev and co-pilot Pavel Kalinin conducted the test flights according to the some of the more likely scenarios that may occur during the games. An evacuation of mock victims with moderate to severe injuries was conducted, with an inflight resuscitation practised in the medical module. Landing on ski slopes and rough mountainous terrain was rehearsed, as was loading rescue teams with mock victims, all with the help of on-board equipment.

The Ka-226T with Turbomeca Arrius 2G1 engine sports a module-based construction and can be used as a medevac, patrol or airborne insertion helicopter. Modern pilot navigation equipment allows the Ka-226T to manoeuvre in dense urban areas and mountainous terrain, while the lack of a tail rotor and its compact size allow it to land on small helipads.