An Mi-8 helicopter belonging to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) crashed near Chelyabinsk on Aug. 29, killing three crew members, according to Russian authorities.
The crash took place next to the village of Krasnoye Pole in southwestern Russia, the regional governor Alexey Teksler reported.
There were no casualties among civilians and damage to residential buildings, according to Teksler.
The helicopter was on a training flight with four people on board, Russian state-run news agency TASS wrote, citing aviation services.
Francis Farrell
According to eyewitnesses, before falling, the helicopter “dangled strongly from side to side, and then went down like a stone,” Russian media outlet 112 reported on Telegram.
First responders have put out the fire at the crash site, emergency services said, as cited by TASS.
On Aug. 23, a Russian pilot landed his Mi-8 helicopter at an airfield in Ukraine to give himself up to the authorities as part of a long-term Ukrainian operation, according to Ukrainska Pravda, citing high-rank sources in the intelligence.
The helicopter was supposed to transport parts for Russian Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets but landed in Kharkiv Oblast, along with the parts it was supposed to deliver.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
