Date
Author
Виктор ПАУКОВ; Александр РАСКИН
Source
Preserved copy
Translated material
Catastrophe
Russian military aviation suffered the largest losses in its history
The heaviest losses, perhaps during the entire “second” Chechen campaign, were suffered yesterday by the federal forces. At about 5 pm, a military transport helicopter Mi-26 T crashed in the line of sight from the main Russian military base in Khankala, in the vicinity of Grozny, with, according to various sources, from 115 to 132 people on board. According to the very first estimates, at least 75 people died in the disaster. More than 30 more were taken to hospital in serious condition. However, yesterday neither the military command nor the civil authorities of Chechnya dared to name the exact number of victims. Rescue work at the scene of the tragedy continued until late in the evening - the helicopter either fell or made an emergency landing in a minefield zone, and the car was immediately engulfed in fire. As a result, fire and medical teams had to make their way to the crash site of the Mi-26 together with sappers.The tragedy near Khankala immediately caused, if not shock, then an extremely painful reaction from the Russian leadership at all levels. In terms of the number of deaths, this accident may well turn out to be the heaviest “one-time” loss of the Joint Group of Forces in Chechnya for the entire duration of the counter-terrorism operation. Federal forces had received blows of similar scale only once before - in February 2000, when 84 paratroopers of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division were killed in one day in a battle with a separatist detachment in the Argun Gorge. In addition, yesterday's accident may well be considered the largest air disaster in the history of Russian military aviation. Since the end of 1999, in all incidents with military aircraft and helicopters in Chechnya, which occurred both for technical reasons and as a result of shelling by militants, a little more than 60 people have been killed.
Within an hour after the news of the tragedy, President Putin took personal control of the investigation into the emergency and ordered the creation of a special commission to determine the causes of the Mi-26 accident, headed by Deputy Minister of Defense - Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces Nikolai Kormiltsev. Yesterday, the entire leadership of Chechnya, headed by Akhmad Kadyrov, and the presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District, Viktor Kazantsev, urgently left for Khankala, interrupting his trip to the flood-affected areas of the Krasnodar Territory.
Both the authorities and experts spoke very carefully yesterday about the causes of the Mi-26 crash. Whatever they turned out to be - a technical malfunction or - in any case, unambiguous conclusions threatened more than serious consequences. In one case, the question arises about the blatant negligence of ground services and the disgraceful state of the Russian military aviation fleet. On the other hand, if the separatists really managed to shoot down a helicopter right near Khankala, where the headquarters of the entire United Group is located, “organizational conclusions” regarding the military command are inevitable.
By yesterday evening, only the following was known for certain. The Mi-26T helicopter of the ground forces aviation took off from the military base in Mozdok at about 16.00. According to various sources, there were 5 crew members and 110-127 military passengers on board. The Mi-26 is one of the most powerful domestic middle-class transport helicopters (its payload capacity is up to 20 tons of cargo) and one of the most reliable machines. The Mi-26T is distinguished by powerful armor protection for the cabin, fuel tanks and engines. The Mi-26 was supposed to deliver the next reinforcement of motorized rifle troops to Khankala to replace soldiers and officers who had served their time in Chechnya. According to preliminary data, the flight proceeded normally until the last moment and the Mi-26 was supposed to arrive at the site at approximately 17.00. However, at 16.47, during the landing approach, the helicopter commander Oleg Batanov reported to the ground about a loud bang in the area of the right engine and the fire alarm about its fire. The pilots reported that they were making an emergency landing, after which communication with the aircraft was lost. According to eyewitnesses, in the last seconds the car did not fall, but rather quickly descended, but fire was already bursting out of its engines. During landing, the car fell on its side and hit the ground, after which it was almost immediately engulfed in flames. Based on such data, experts yesterday suggested that the Mi-26 could have been shot down from the ground (possibly from a machine gun; if hit by a missile, the car would have exploded in the air) or fell as a result of an engine malfunction. At the same time, the possibility was not excluded that the vehicle could hit a mine when it hit the ground.