MOSCOW, October 24 (RAPSI) – A court has sentenced a commander of the Utair’s MI-8T helicopter, which crashed in the Sea of Okhotsk in 2015, to 2 years in penal colony settlement, Russia’s Investigative Committee informs on its website.

The crash resulted in the death of 5 passengers, eight others survived. The helicopter operated a touristic flight to the Shantarskie Islands.

Damage caused to the airline owning the helicopter was estimated at more than 51 million rubles (about $800,000) as the vehicle was damaged.

According to investigators, the helicopter captain committed a range of flight rules violations, including failure to return to a departure airfield during weather deterioration. Thus, the pilot failed to ensure safe airway operation, safe height and speed, the statement reads.