Three Officials Arrested over Brovary Helicopter Crash Incident

Three suspects in the case of a plane crash in Brovary on January 18 this year, in which the leadership of the Ministry of the Interior died, were issued “a preventive measure,” which in Ukrainian jurisprudence means detention to avoid flight risk pending an investigation’s completion.

The preventive measure order was decided upon by the acting unit commander Vladimir Leonov and his colleague Andrei Dvorik, an official of the State Emergency Service (SES), for two of the accused officials. The Pechersk District Court of the capital remanded both defendants into custody without the right to bail.

The emergency service officials are suspected of violating flight safety regulations leading to the death of the aircrew, passengers and bystanders on the ground.

In addition, the preventive measure was also ordered for the head of the Department of Aviation and Aviation Search and Rescue of the SES, Ivan Korobka. The Pechersk court of Kyiv ordered two months of detention for Korobka.

Ivan Korobka took issue with the court decision. According to him, he acted "in accordance with the governing [regulations]": the pilots were qualified to carry passengers, including government leaders and and “the weather was [suitable for] flying.”

Lawyers for the official will appeal.

What happened on the 18th of January 2023 in Brovary?

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DBR investigators meticulously reconstructed the events of the accident day, which involved analysis of the “black boxes.”

The incident occurred in January this year in the eastern Kyiv suburb of Brovary. The Ministry of Internal Affairs leadership had planned a visit to the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Despite warnings and admonitions, State Emergency Service officials provided a helicopter on standby for potential emergency responses in Kyiv and the Kyiv region. This aircraft lacked authorization for other types of flights.

During the flight, the crew commander was unaware of the deteriorating weather along the entire route, particularly in Brovary. The crew itself did not have the appropriate clearances for flights in the weather conditions nor the necessary certifications. But officials of the State Emergency Service did not cancel or postpone the flight to wait for more favorable conditions.

Due to the low cloud ceiling and limited visibility, the helicopter was forced to descend to an extremely low altitude en route – below the height of buildings.

The aircraft commander, seeing a multi-story building, attempted to maneuver to clear the obstacle, but reportedly lost spatial orientation, performed an exaggerated maneuver and collided with the ground.

On board was the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs: Internal Affairs Minister Denis Monastyrsky, his first deputy Yevgeny Yenin, Internal Affairs State Secretary Yuri Lubkovich and their assistants. All aboard the helicopter died in the incident.

In addition, five more people died who were bystanders near the crash site.