Mi-26 crash near Novokruchininsky
EMERCOM of Russia Mil Mi-26 · A sling of the LS-15 belt stage getting into the tail rotor
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 12 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- Unknown
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- 0
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Government
Mil Mi-26
- Aircraft type
- Mil MI-26
- Category
- Helicopter · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- RA-06075 / 212 жeлтый
- Operator
- EMERCOM of Russia
- Onboard fatalities
- 12
- Route
- From not recordedTo not recorded
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Estimated position: Novokruchininsky, near the place the Wikipedia article names. Not the accident site.
From the Wikipedia article
The Mi-26 crash near Novokruchininsky was an aviation accident that occurred on Saturday, 3 May 2003 in Chita Oblast (now Zabaykalsky Krai) of the Russian Federation. A Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter belonging to EMERCOM of Russia was engaged in fighting forest fires, but crashed near the settlement of Novokruchininsky. All 12 people on board (5 passengers and 7 crew members) were killed. 4 May was declared a day of mourning in Chita Oblast.
According to the conclusion of the commission that investigated the crash, the cause of the crash was a sling of the LS-15 belt stage getting into the helicopter's tail rotor.
Sequence of events
By May 2003 forest fires covering thousands of hectares had been continuing in Chita Oblast for a long time. On 3 May 2003 the Mi-26 helicopter was extinguishing fire 40 kilometres south-east of the city of Chita using a VSU-15 water-discharge device on an LS-15 external sling. On board were 4 journalists out of the 12 who had arrived in Chita from Moscow on the night of 1 May. After the third drop of water, taken from the Ingoda River, a strong gust of wind threw the cable of the empty water-discharge device onto the helicopter's tail rotor, as a result of which the rotor was destroyed. The tail boom separated from the aircraft, after which it lost controllability, struck the ground, broke up and burned. Everyone on board was killed. The crash occurred at 14:54 local time three kilometres from the urban-type settlement of Novokruchininsky.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
According to the conclusion of the commission that investigated the crash, the cause of the fall of the Mi-26 helicopter was a sling of the LS-15 belt stage getting into the aircraft's tail rotor. According to the investigators' findings, there was no snagging or striking of the water-discharge device against obstacles on the ground. Probably the cause of the LS-15 getting into the tail rotor was the effect of an air vortex on the VSU. As a source of RIA Novosti in the prosecutor's office of the Siberian Military District reported, the investigation established that during the flight the crew violated piloting rules: in particular, the altitude and speed were not observed, and the pilots did not take into account downdrafts and updrafts. The criminal case concerning the crash was closed “due to the death of the guilty persons (the pilots)”.
Translated into English with AI assistance from the Russian Wikipedia article “Катастрофа Ми-26 под Новокручининским” (revision 155074646, retrieved 2026-09-19) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out; the translation may contain errors, and long articles were cut to their first 700 words. Read the article
Sources
Russian Wikipedia article: Катастрофа Ми-26 под Новокручининским
- Translation
- Into English with AI assistance; names of linked operators and aircraft types from Wikidata. It may contain errors.
- Revision
- 155074646 · 2026-09-14 · retrieved 2026-09-19
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- ru Wikipedia article "Катастрофа Ми-26 под Новокручининским" (page 11092466, revision 155074646), translated into English with AI assistance
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- place the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata coordinates)
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- Reviewed correction (2026-09-26): The helicopter belonged to Russia's state emergencies ministry (EMERCOM) and was fighting forest fires: a state firefighting operation, not an armed force. The article: "A Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter belonging to EMERCOM of Russia was engaged in fighting forest fires"
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Russian Wikipedia article's infobox, translated into English with AI assistance, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.