A military helicopter crashed in western Kazakhstan during a training flight on Saturday, killing a veteran pilot who was involved in flood control efforts earlier this year and injuring the other two servicemen who were on board.
The crash happened near the village of Saryzhar in the Aktobe Region, according to authorities. Kazakh media reports said a fire broke out on impact.
“The preliminary cause of the incident is considered to be a technical malfunction, and the details are under investigation,” Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Defense said on Telegram. “An interdepartmental emergency response team is working at the scene.”
The ministry identified the serviceman who died in what it called a “hard landing” as Maj. Batyr Kairatovich Urazymbetov, an air squadron instructor from the Military Institute of Air Defense Forces. It said Urazymbetov was born in 1988 and was an experienced airman, accumulating more than 500 flight hours on the Mi-8 helicopter.
“Throughout his service, he demonstrated high professionalism and dedication to duty, including participation in flood control efforts this spring. He was awarded anniversary medals and long service awards. He was married and had two children,” the ministry said. Urazymbetov’s family will receive financial aid and other support, it said.
Kazakhstan’s military assisted with evacuations, building barriers to prevent water flows and other measures during devastating floods this year that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev described as Kazakhstan’s worst natural disaster in 80 years.
Air Squadron Commander Major Bibarys Ibraev and senior Lt. Rustem Nigmetov, a flight instructor at the military institute’s training aviation center, were injured in the crash on Saturday. They were transported to the regional hospital in Aktobe city and were in stable but serious condition.
Azerbaijan’s defense minister, Col. Gen. Zakir Hasanov, said on Telegram that he was “deeply saddened” to hear about the crash and expressed condolences to the families of the dead serviceman and his injured colleagues. Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries participated in joint military exercises in Kazakhstan in July.
Kazakhstan’ military has operated Soviet-designed Mi-8 helicopters since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in late 1991. Dozens of countries use the aircraft.
The helicopter that crashed received its “last major overhaul” at a military facility in Almaty last year, and maintenance requirements and pre-flight preparations were in order, according to defense officials. The crew had experience dealing with bad weather, night flying and other challenging conditions.
