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On April 10, Russian Mi-24 helicopter crashed in the Black Sea near the western coast of Crimea. The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the incident.
According to the local reports, the helicopter crashed in the sea to the west of the Cape Tarkhankut on the western coast of the peninsula. The aircraft was performing an operation aimed to hunt Ukrainian unmanned boats near the coast of the Crimean peninsula. The helicopter was patrolling the area, there were no reports about the destruction of Ukrainian naval drones in the Black Sea over the past day.
According to preliminary reports, the crew of the helicopter died as a result of the crash. The number of victims was not officially revealed. A search and rescue tean was working at the crash site.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the preliminary cause of the incident was a technical malfunction. The investigation is yet to reveal details of the incident.
Ukrainian media attempted to use chance to declare another fake victory. They reported that Ukrainian forces allegedly shot down Russian Ka-27 helicopter over the Black Sea. These reports do not correspond to the reality.
This is far from the first Russian aircraft destroyed in the rear areas, including near the Crimean peninsula. On the evening of March 28, another Russian military aircraft, presumably Su-35SM fighter, crashed into the Black Sea near Sevastopol. The pilot ejected and survived the incident. The local authorities confirmed the incident, but the Russian Ministry of Defense did not officially comment.
Taking into account the experience of the ongoing military operations, the Russian Defense Ministry usually does not comment at all on incidents in the air, which are largely supposed to be caused by Russian friendly fire. For example, the recent crash of the Su-27SM and the losses of two precious AWACS A-50U aircraft over the eastern waters of the Black Sea. Since the Russian military officials provided no details on these incidents, various unofficial sources, including those close to the Russian military, supposed that the aircraft were most likely shot down by Russian air defense forces.
On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense timely confirms the incident caused by technical malfunctions and officially recognizes such losses. Thus, indeed, today’s crash of the Mi-24 helicopter was likely a result of some technical problems.
