Five dead, two survivors, one burn center. That was the count after a Ka-226 helicopter owned by the Kizlyar Electromechanical Plant, or KEMZ, went down in Dagestan on November 7. Four of the dead worked for the plant, the company said on November 8.
KEMZ published the victims’ names. They were deputy general director for construction and transportation Achalo Magomedov, chief power engineer Sergei Suslov, chief designer for helicopter construction Sirazhutdin Saaduev and Islam Dzhabrailov, listed as a driver. The fifth person killed was the helicopter’s flight mechanic, who died in hospital, according to The Moscow Times as relayed by Charter97.
The two who lived are Akhmat Akhmatov, the plant’s executive director and the son of its head, and test pilot Vladimir Andreev. Both were taken to the burn center in Makhachkala.
The last minutes
The helicopter was flying from Kizlyar to the Sunny Beach recreation center near Izberbash. Its final minutes were caught on video. Charter97 described an emergency landing in which the nose rose high and the rear of the machine struck a pier, breaking the tail beams. The crew tried again, barely touched the water, and climbed away to look for somewhere else to land. The pilot then lost control, and the helicopter fell apart and hit an uninhabited house in the village of Achi-Su, which caught fire.
Russian state media first reported that the aircraft carried tourists. That turned out to be wrong. Footage said to show the crash has also spread on social media, the Kyiv Independent noted.
Investigation and the company
Rosaviatsia, Russia’s federal aviation agency, called the crash a “disaster” and said it would take part in an official investigation. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under part 3 of article 263 of the Criminal Code, which covers safety violations that result in several deaths. Investigators are weighing two explanations, pilot error and a technical malfunction. The Interstate Aviation Committee will look into the causes.
KEMZ is part of Rostec. It builds helicopters, small aircraft and anti-drone systems. The Kyiv Independent reported that the plant makes ground control and diagnostic equipment, mainly for Sukhoi and MiG aircraft that Russia uses against Ukrainian cities. The United States has sanctioned the plant since June 2022. In June 2024 the European Union blacklisted it along with CEO Ibragim Akhmatov.
The Ka-226 is a twin-engine utility helicopter that can seat up to seven passengers. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, HUR, said in July 2024 that a Ka-226 was among several helicopters damaged in a sabotage operation. Western sanctions have also left many Russian aircraft short of parts for routine maintenance, the Kyiv Independent added.
Sources
- Russian Ka-226 helicopter crashes in Dagestan, killing weapons plant employees
- Russian Defense Plant Executives Killed In Helicopter Crash In Dagestan
Sources
- Russian Ka-226 helicopter crashes in Dagestan, killing weapons …
- Russian Defense Plant Executives Killed In Helicopter Crash In…
