Heliport
7th May 2003, 06:23
from the Moscow Times
An Mi-26 fighting forest fires crashed in the Far East on Saturday, killing all 12 people aboard, including four journalists.
In Moscow, Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu told reporters the helicopter had dumped about 15 metric tons of water and was returning to a reservoir.
Perhaps because of a gust of wind, the wire on which the water canister was suspended swung backward and got caught in the helicopter's rear rotor, causing the aircraft to plunge to the ground.
Itar-Tass said it burst into flames.
Winds were high in the area, and smoke from the forest fires had severely cut visibility, according to television reports. Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Gennady Korotkin said the crew was very experienced but was flying in "complicated conditions."
The helicopter went down near the village of Novokruchinsky in the Chita region, said a duty officer in the Siberian regional department of the Emergency Situations Ministry. The helicopter, which belonged to the Emergency Situations Ministry, was on its third return trip of the day from the scene of what are currently the worst forest fires in Russia.
The Mi-26 fighting a forest fire in the Chita region on Friday. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/photos/large/2003_05/2003_05_05/chopper_2.jpg
Seven helicopter crewmen, a camera operator and producer from Rossia television, a reporter and photographer from the Yezhenedelny Zhurnal weekly magazine, and a forest management official were killed. Two of the journalists were women. The bodies of all 12 victims were recovered along with two flight data recorders, Itar-Tass reported.
Shoigu left for the region after briefing President Vladimir Putin about the tragedy, Interfax reported. He said the Chita forest fires were reaching a critical point, approaching populated settlements and power lines. A state of emergency had been declared in the region a few days ago. About 36,000 hectares of woodlands were ablaze there, according to Itar-Tass.
Putin ordered the creation of a special commission to investigate the crash, and military prosecutors opened a criminal case into the crash, news agencies said.
The Chita fires, which have burned nearly 89,000 acres, were approaching populated areas and power lines. A state of emergency was declared in the region a few days ago.
It was the fourth crash involving an Mi-26 since 1999, ITAR-Tass reported. The Mi-26, the heaviest helicopter in the world, was designed for carrying loads of up to 20 tons.
http://www.rostvertol.be/pictures/mi-26-pict.jpg
An Mi-26 fighting forest fires crashed in the Far East on Saturday, killing all 12 people aboard, including four journalists.
In Moscow, Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu told reporters the helicopter had dumped about 15 metric tons of water and was returning to a reservoir.
Perhaps because of a gust of wind, the wire on which the water canister was suspended swung backward and got caught in the helicopter's rear rotor, causing the aircraft to plunge to the ground.
Itar-Tass said it burst into flames.
Winds were high in the area, and smoke from the forest fires had severely cut visibility, according to television reports. Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Gennady Korotkin said the crew was very experienced but was flying in "complicated conditions."
The helicopter went down near the village of Novokruchinsky in the Chita region, said a duty officer in the Siberian regional department of the Emergency Situations Ministry. The helicopter, which belonged to the Emergency Situations Ministry, was on its third return trip of the day from the scene of what are currently the worst forest fires in Russia.
The Mi-26 fighting a forest fire in the Chita region on Friday. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/photos/large/2003_05/2003_05_05/chopper_2.jpg
Seven helicopter crewmen, a camera operator and producer from Rossia television, a reporter and photographer from the Yezhenedelny Zhurnal weekly magazine, and a forest management official were killed. Two of the journalists were women. The bodies of all 12 victims were recovered along with two flight data recorders, Itar-Tass reported.
Shoigu left for the region after briefing President Vladimir Putin about the tragedy, Interfax reported. He said the Chita forest fires were reaching a critical point, approaching populated settlements and power lines. A state of emergency had been declared in the region a few days ago. About 36,000 hectares of woodlands were ablaze there, according to Itar-Tass.
Putin ordered the creation of a special commission to investigate the crash, and military prosecutors opened a criminal case into the crash, news agencies said.
The Chita fires, which have burned nearly 89,000 acres, were approaching populated areas and power lines. A state of emergency was declared in the region a few days ago.
It was the fourth crash involving an Mi-26 since 1999, ITAR-Tass reported. The Mi-26, the heaviest helicopter in the world, was designed for carrying loads of up to 20 tons.
http://www.rostvertol.be/pictures/mi-26-pict.jpg