SBI has announced suspicions towards law enforcement officers, due to whose actions a fatal helicopter crash occurred in Brovary on 18 January, causing the death of Ministry of Internal Affairs leadership.
This was reported by the press service of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI).
The head of the State Search and Rescue Aviation Service of the SES of Ukraine, the acting commander of a unit, the deputy commander for flight training, the commander of an aircraft squadron, the head of the Flight Security Service of the Special Aviation Unit and Operational Rescue Service of the SES of Ukraine based in the city of Nizhyn, Chernihiv Oblast, have been blamed for the catastrophe.
The suspects are accused of allowing flagrant violations of air traffic safety rules and air transport operation rules, which led to the deaths.
The investigation bureau also reconstructed the day of the accident minute by minute. As part of the investigation, they found that the helicopter on which the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were flying did not have permission to perform such types of flights.
Furthermore, the crew commander was not informed about meteorological data throughout the planned route, especially the extremely adverse weather conditions over the city of Brovary.
The crew also did not have appropriate permits for flights in complex weather conditions and necessary certificates. Yet, none of the officials responsible for flight safety cancelled the flight or postponed it until the weather conditions improved.
As a result, due to challenging weather conditions, the helicopter was forced to fly at an extremely low altitude, which is even lower than the height of buildings on the route.
The crew commander spotted a multi-storey building and began to manoeuvre, but suddenly ascended, lost spatial orientation and due to the lack of necessary skills, collided with the ground during the final manoeuvre.
Background. Mind previously reported that theories about an assassination attempt on state officials or sabotage during the helicopter crash in Brovary had not been confirmed.