MOSCOW. Aug 26 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Air Force Commander- in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov punished a number of officials who are found guilty of the MI-8SMV Hip helicopter crash near Kubinka, Moscow region, on July 6, 2004, a source in the Air Force Staff told Interfax-Military News Agency Thursday.
"All four crew were killed in the crash caused by icing at large altitude. Following the results of the investigation led by an authorized commission, the Air Force commander-in-chief issued an order to punish a number of officers of the 16th air army of the Special Forces Command, which executed command and control over the crew of the helicopter with Major Sergei Stalmakov as pilot," the source said.
Lieutenant General Razygrayev, Chief of Staff, Special Forces Command (SFC), was reprimanded for unsatisfactory organization of work of meteorological service, air traffic control system and radio-technical flight support. Lieutenant General Retunskoi, 16th air army commander, was also reprimanded for unsatisfactory organization of flight control, monitoring and support, as well as Lieutenant Colonel Smirnov, acting chief of the Meterorological Service. Also, reprimands were given to Major General Stolbinsky, SFC aviation chief, Colonel Kislov, acting chief of SFC flights safety, Colonel Griga, 16th air army combat training chief, Colonel Panfilenko, unit 52806 commander and his deputy Lieutenant Colonel Shcherbina.
Space Forces Commander Colonel General Soloviov also gained his share of reprimands.
"The rest officers who are to blame for the aircraft accident are to be punished separately by the Space Forces commander," the source said.
The Air Force commander-in-chief's order reads that the accident was caused by crew errors within the background of adverse weather, as well as organizational mischief of a number of officers responsible for the organization of flights.
The source added that Mikhailov specified three main directions of ensuring flight safety during his speech at the conference held at the Air Force Staff on Wednesday, which are flight organization, aircraft maintenance and theoretical training of pilots. Prudence is the best constituent of courage, Mikhailov emphasized during the conference.
The MI-8SMV that crashed on July 6 was on a routine flight inspecting the readiness of alert forces in the Air Defense Force Central Zone. Before the accident, when the aircraft was at 3,000 meters, the crew reported a malfunction and requested emergency landing. Several minutes later the contact with the chopper was lost.
All four dead bodies of the crewmembers were found at the crash site. Those killed are pilot Major Sergei Stalmakov, navigator Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Papanin, technician Captain Anton Shevtsov, operator Captain Alexei Bely.