Case opened after UTair helicopter crash in South Sudan

The Ural Investigation Department for Transport of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case into the crash of a Mi-8AMT of UTair airlines, operating under a contract with the UN, in South Sudan. According to investigators, on August 26, while transporting food, the helicopter fuselage caught fire, the crew was forced to land and, due to smoke, did not see obstacles on the ground. Previously, UTair did not rule out the possibility that the Mi-8AMT could have been damaged due to shelling from the ground.

According to the Investigative Committee, a criminal case into the crash of a Mi-8AMT helicopter in South Sudan was initiated on the grounds of a crime under Part 3 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation of traffic safety rules and operation of air transport, resulting in the death of two or more persons through negligence "), the sanctions of which include up to seven years in prison.

Let us recall that the aircraft, owned by UTair airline, was part of the forces and assets of the UN mission in South Sudan. According to investigators, on August 26, the helicopter was carrying out a planned flight on instructions from the mission leadership - transporting food weighing 2.5 tons along the Wau - Bentio route. There were four crew members on board - captain Andrei Berdnikov, co-pilot Alexander Lobkov, flight engineers Tuktasin Ishmetov and Alexey Sazontov. “During a flight approximately three kilometers from the destination airfield of Bentio (Unity State of the Republic of South Sudan), the rear fuselage of the helicopter caught fire. When performing an emergency landing at high speed in smoke conditions, the aircraft collided with obstacles on the ground with its subsequent destruction,” the press service of the Investigative Committee reported. Of the crew members, only Alexander Lobkov survived: he received bodily injuries of varying degrees of severity, the rest died. Alexander Lobkov was taken to the Doctors Without Borders hospital; the bodies of the victims were handed over to their families at the end of August.

According to Mr. Lobkov, during landing there was a strong side impact, after which a fire started on board. Earlier, the UTair press service voiced a version that the helicopter could have been shot down by fire from the ground. Spokesman for the UN chief Stephane Dujarric reported that the mission is conducting its own investigation into the circumstances of the plane crash. In mid-September, the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Sudan transferred the authority to investigate all the circumstances and causes of the emergency to the Federal Air Transport Agency.

There are currently no suspects in the criminal case. “Currently, investigative actions are being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident,” the press service of the Ural Investigation Department for Transport reported.

Maria Polous

Smoke was detected in the Mi-8