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| Date: | Wednesday 18 January 2023 |
| Time: | 08:20 |
| Type: |  Eurocopter EC225LP Super Puma Mk2+ |
| Owner/operator: | State Emergency Service of Ukraine |
| Registration: | 54 Blue |
| MSN: | 2708 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 |
| Other fatalities: | 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Brovary, Brovary Raion, Kyiv Oblast -
 Ukraine
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Little or no information is available |
On 18 January 2023, a Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (F-WTBQ) carrying a number of government officials crashed into a kindergarten in Brovary, Brovary Raion, Kyiv Oblast. All 10 occupants of the helicopter were killed in the crash, in addition to 4 victims on the ground, including one child.
According to a statement released by Kyrylo Vladlenovych Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the helicopter had been transporting the officials to an undisclosed frontline location when the aircraft crashed into the ground. Eyewitness testimony described the weather conditions in the area as foggy, with witnesses reportedly seeing the helicopter on fire, and circling towards the ground with its tail boom and rotor missing, before crashing into the ground. The helicopter crashed into a kindergarten building, resulting in the building catching fire. Search and rescue operations lasted almost nine hours, identifying 10 fatalities on board the helicopter, as well as 5 fatalities on the ground (four women and one child). In addition, 31 people, including 13 children, sustained injuries of varying severity.
Twenty-five people located in and around the kindergarten were taken to Brovary City Hospital, of which 8 had suffered serious burn injuries. Due to the deteriorating situation in Ukraine following the ongoing conflict, 6 of these patients were sent outside the country for further specialised treatment.
High profile passengers/crew members:
* Commander Oleksandr Vasylenko
* First Officer Kostiantyn Kovalenko
* Flight Engineer Ivan Kasianov
* Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Anatoliiovych Monastyrsky
* Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Yevhen Volodymrovych Yenin
* Secretary of State for the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Olehovych Lubkovych
In addition, the chief of security for Monastyrsky, as well as 3 staffers for the Ministry of Internal Affairs were killed in the crash.
The helicopter was one of 21 H225 aircraft delivered to Ukraine as assistance in replacing the countries aging fleet of Soviet aircraft, such as the Mil Mi-8. The helicopter was originally delivered to a customer in Norway in 2009, and was acquired by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine after being refurbished in 2020 following periods of ownership in Norway, Brazil and France.
On 3 August 2023, the Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation (DBR/SBI) released a media statement, stating that the Bureau had served 5 notices of suspicion to top officials of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. The SBI stated that the officials "violated flight safety rules for a helicopter carrying the top officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine".
The following persons were served with a notice of suspicion:
* Head of the Department of Aviation, Air Search and Rescue of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine
* The acting commander of the unit
* Deputy commander for flight training
* The commander of the aviation squadron
* Head of the flight safety service of the special aviation unit of the civil protection operational and rescue service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (Nizhyn, Chernihiv Oblast)
The investigation established that the officials had committed blatant violations of air traffic safety and operational rules, which lead to the deaths of people.
State Bureau of Investigation findings:
=
It was established that in January 2023, a visit of the top officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine from Kyiv to the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts was planned.
Despite the internal instructions and legal requirements, State Emergency Service officials used a helicopter that was designated to provide emergency air services for the city of Kyiv and the surrounding area. The aircraft had no permits or verification for any other types of flights. During the preparation for the flight, the crew commander was not informed of the meteorological data along the route of the planned flight. Of particular interest was the unfavourable weather conditions over the city of Brovary. In addition the crew did not have the appropriate flight plans, or certifications to fly in difficult weather conditions. However, none of the officials responsible for flight safety cancelled the flight, or at least postponed it until favourable weather conditions improved.
Due to difficult weather conditions, the helicopter was forced to fly at an extremely low altitude, even lower than the height of high rise buildings along the route. From this, the cause of the crash is attributed to the pilot attempting to manoeuvre over an oncoming building, but lost spatial orientation in the poor weather and crashed into the ground.
When the helicopter crashed, it damaged a kindergarten, neighbouring buildings and parked cars.
Officials of the Aviation Department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine were served with a notice of suspicion of violating flight safety rules (air traffic safety), which caused the death of people and large scale material damage, i.e. of committing a criminal office under Article 276 of the Criminal Court of Ukraine.
The head of the flight safety service of the same unit was served a notice of suspicion under Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (official negligence).
=
Sources:
https://theaviationist.com/2023/01/18/ukrainian-super-puma-helicopter-crash-near-kyiv-kills-18-including-ukraines-ministry-of-interior/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64315594
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/aircraft-crashes-into-building-outside-ukrainian-capital-kyiv-2023-01-18/
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/18/europe/helicopter-crash-ukraine-intl/index.html
https://liveuamap.com/en/2023/18-january-helicopter-crashed-in-residential-area-brovary
https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/885248.html
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2023/01/18/Aircraft-crashes-into-building-in-Ukrainian-town-near-Kyiv
https://dbr.gov.ua/en/news/dbr-povidomilo-pro-pidozru-posadovcyam-dsns-cherez-dii-yakih-18-sichnya-2023-roku-v-aviakatastrofi-zaginulo-kerivnictvo-mvs
https://verdictum.ligazakon.net/document/113189305
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HV3ZJYO3Po
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Brovary_helicopter_crash
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DycLYvNXtLQ/X00bAPqB-hI/AAAAAAAA2p0/inbyIMopQYMHF-B2dwH9a1zFW6QeIL9ZACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/50121446976_9df5c7ce21_k.jpg (photo)
History of this aircraft
Ex F-WTBQ (2019–2020), M-ABKJ (2016–2019), PR-YCL (2010–2016), LN-OHY (2009)
Location
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Feb-2024 10:54 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Location, Category] |
| 15-Jun-2024 12:15 | Anon. | Updated [Other fatalities, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
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