SBI completes investigation into the cause of plane crash in Brovary

SBI officers have completed the investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash on January 18, 2023 in Brovary, which killed the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The case file is open for review by suspects and their defense lawyers.

This was reported by the press service of the State Bureau of Investigation. The sanction of the articles provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 10 years.

"SBI employees have completed an investigation into the helicopter crash on January 18, 2023 in Brovary. The case file is open for review by the suspects and their defense lawyers, as well as the victims and their legal representatives. After reviewing the materials, they will be submitted to the court," the press service said.

The SBI reminded that in August, investigators served five SES officials with a notice of suspicion. It is noted that they violated the flight safety rules of a helicopter carrying the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and escorts.

In particular, the following people were notified of suspicion:

• head of the Aviation and Aviation Search and Rescue Department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine;
• the acting commander of a special aviation detachment;
• deputy commander for flight training;
• commander of an aviation squadron;
• head of the Flight Safety Service of the Special Aviation Detachment of the Civil Defense Rescue Service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine from the city of Nizhyn, Chernihiv region.

"The investigation has established that the officials committed blatant violations of air traffic safety and operation rules, which led to the deaths of people. SBI investigators reconstructed the day of the crash minute by minute, including decoding the black boxes," the press service said.

Law enforcement officers found that in January 2023, a visit of the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine to Kharkiv and Dnipro regions was scheduled. Despite the warnings of internal instructions and legal requirements, SES officials involved a helicopter that was on duty to respond to potential emergencies in Kyiv and the region to transport the delegation. The aircraft had no permits for other types of flights.

During the preparation for the flight, the crew commander was not informed of the meteorological data along the entire route of the planned movement, in particular, of the extremely unfavorable weather conditions over Brovary. The crew itself did not have the appropriate permits to fly in difficult weather conditions and the necessary certificates. However, none of the officials responsible for flight safety canceled the flight or postponed it to a later date when weather conditions were favorable.

It is noted that due to the difficult weather conditions, the helicopter was forced to fly at an extremely low altitude, even lower than the height of the buildings on the route. The crew commander saw an obstacle - a multi-storey building - and began to perform a circling maneuver, but he abruptly climbed, lost his orientation in space, and at the end of the maneuver, due to a lack of necessary skills, collided with the ground. As a result of the crash, the helicopter damaged a kindergarten, neighboring buildings and parked cars.

"In addition to senior Interior Ministry officials and those accompanying them, four women and a young child who had just come to the kindergarten were killed in the crash. 31 people, including 13 children, sustained injuries of varying severity," the SBI added.

Officials were served a notice of suspicion of violation of flight safety rules (air traffic safety), which caused death and large-scale material damage, i.e., a criminal offense under Part 3 of Article 276 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The head of the flight safety service of the same unit was served a notice of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (official negligence).

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