The four crew members of the Mi-8 helicopter that crashed in the West Kazakhstan Region (WKR) died in different circumstances. Two people died from their injuries, and another two from general hypothermia.
WHAT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED ABOUT THE DEATHS OF THE CREW
According to the Telegram channel “Kozachkov offside”, co-pilot Vladimir Afanasyev and flight engineer Zharden Doskaliev died from multiple injuries sustained in the crash.
The captain Dovletbay Kanatov and flight mechanic Siyazbek Andosov died from general hypothermia. It remains unknown whether they would have survived had help arrived sooner.
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE FOR RESCUERS TO ARRIVE
The helicopter crashed at 14:38 local time, and rescuers arrived at the scene at 19:07. Thus, several hours passed between the crash and the arrival of help.
During the court proceedings, the issue of transmitting the coordinates of the crash site was previously discussed. Witness Nurbek Shakishev, chief expert of the aviation accident and incident investigation department of the Ministry of Transport, told the court that after the helicopter went down, the aircraft commander was alive and managed to transmit the location data.
According to the witness, the coordinates were transmitted with a delay.
WHAT QUESTIONS WERE RAISED AT THE COURT HEARING
The new circumstances were also discussed in the dispute between the Ministry for Emergency Situations (MES) and the insurance company “Eurazia” over compensation for the lost helicopter.
According to the publication, representatives of the insurer questioned the representative of JSC “Kazaviaspas” about the operation of the onboard systems. In particular, the deactivation of the Ground Proximity Warning System, which could have alerted the crew to low flight altitude, was discussed.
Separately, the parties addressed the issue of the COSPAS-SARSAT alerting system, which should transmit the aircraft’s coordinates. The representative of “Kazaviaspas” declined to answer this question, stating that it was not relevant to the subject of the economic dispute under consideration.
WHAT REMAINS SUBJECT TO COURT PROCEEDINGS
Two proceedings related to the Mi-8 disaster in February 2023 are continuing simultaneously. In the Baiterek district of the WKR, a criminal case against the deceased pilots is being heard. According to the prosecution, their actions led to the aviation accident.
In Almaty, the MES is seeking compensation from the insurance company “Eurazia” for the crashed helicopter. The parties continue to dispute the value of the aircraft and the amount of the insurance payout.
CONTEXT
The disaster occurred on 23 February 2023 six kilometres from the village of Beibitshilik. The helicopter was carrying out a commercial flight at the request of JSC “KazTransOil”. As a result of the crash, four crew members died and two other people were injured.
Charges under Part 3 of Article 344 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (“Violation of traffic safety rules or operation of air transport, negligently resulting in the death of two or more persons”) have been brought against the deceased captain Davletbay Kanatov and co-pilot Vladimir Afanasyev.
The Ministry for Emergency Situations (MES) of Kazakhstan filed a lawsuit seeking to recover compensation from the insurance company “Eurazia” for the crashed Mi-8 helicopter. The claim amount is around 8 billion tenge and has become the subject of a dispute between the parties.
Earlier, witness Nurbek Shakishev cited in court the causes that the aviation commission had indicated in the investigation materials. According to him, the crew lost visual contact with the ground, failed to make a timely decision to turn back, and did not manage to climb to a safe altitude.
