The helicopter had ferried the men to a fishing spot when the crash happened
A helicopter crash in Russia in which two Britons were killed was "quite extraordinary", a coroner has said.
Mark Robertson and Rupert Beaumont, both 69 and from Hook in Hampshire, were on a fishing trip south of Murmansk last year.
An inquest in Basingstoke heard they had been dropped off by a helicopter when it toppled over, causing them "catastrophic head injuries".
The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Corporate lawyer Mr Beaumont and Mr Robertson, who was an art dealer, had just left the Eurocopter aircraft which had ferried them to a fishing spot popular with tourists when the accident happened in July 2013.
The two anglers, along with their Russian guide, were killed instantly when they were struck by the aircraft's rotors.
'Push the boundaries'
The inquest heard the helicopter had made an "extremely hard landing" according to accident investigator Paul Hannant. As a result, a bracket securing the landing gear sheared off causing the helicopter to topple over.
Coroner Andrew Bradley said there were problems with the case because the only witness to the crash was the 60-year-old Russian helicopter pilot who told investigators it had been a "smooth landing."
The dead men's families raised concerns that the helicopter was being operated under a private rather than commercial licence.
Mr Bradley said: "There seems to be some vested interest to get in and get out as quickly as possible. That might cause one to push the boundaries."
He agreed to a request from the Beaumont family's lawyer to ask the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) to approach their counterparts in Moscow.
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