The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has completed the case of the plane crash in Brovary, where the senior leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs died on January 18, 2023. Then the case will be transferred to the court.
In August, investigators reported suspicion to five officials of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, who violated the safety rules of helicopter flights. They face up to 10 years in prison.
The suspect received:
- head of the Department of Aviation and Aviation Search and Rescue of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine;
- the acting head of a special aviation unit;
- deputy commander for flight training;
- aviation squadron commander;
- the head of the flight safety service of the Special Aviation Detachment of the Operational Rescue Service of Civil Protection of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine from the city of Nizhyn, Chernihiv region.
According to the investigation, the officials committed flagrant violations of the rules of traffic safety and operation of the helicopter.
SBI investigators reconstructed the day of the accident minute by minute, in particular deciphering the "black boxes". Foreign experts were also involved in the investigation, in particular representatives of the French company — the manufacturer of the helicopter.
In January 2023, the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine visited the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Despite the caveat of internal instructions and legal requirements, the State Emergency Service officials involved in transporting the delegation a helicopter that was on duty to respond to potential emergency situations in Kyiv and the region. The aircraft did not have permits for other types of flights.
During preparation for the flight, the crew commander was not informed about meteorological data along the entire route of the planned movement, in particular, about extremely unfavorable weather conditions over the city of Brovary. The crew itself did not have appropriate permits for flights in difficult weather conditions and the necessary certificates. However, none of the officials responsible for flight safety canceled or postponed the flight.
Due to difficult weather conditions, the helicopter was forced to fly at an extremely low altitude, which is even lower than the height of the buildings on the route. The crew commander saw an obstacle — a high-rise building, tried to fly around it, but rose sharply, lost orientation in space and collided with the ground.
During the fall, the helicopter damaged a kindergarten, nearby buildings and parked cars.
- On January 18, 2023, a helicopter fell near a kindergarten and a residential building in the city of Brovary, Kyiv region. On board was the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who was flying on a business trip. 14 people died, including one child, Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, First Deputy Minister Yevhen Yenin and State Secretary Yuriy Lubkovych.