MOSCOW, October 30 (RIA Novosti) – Safety violations may have been to blame for the crash of a high-tech military attack helicopter in Moscow this week, investigators said Wednesday.
Moscow's Inter-Regional Transport Investigations Directorate said they have opened a criminal case into the crash of the twin-seater Kamov Ka-52 Alligator that seriously injured its two pilots.
Officials estimate the accident has cost damages to the Defense Ministry worth 800 million rubles ($24.9 million).
Investigators are set to review witness accounts, data from the Ka-52’s flight recorders and documents found on the craft to determine what caused the accident.
Industry and Trade Ministry experts will also study fuel samples from the helicopter, investigators said.
The Ka-52 crashed near the Vykhino-Zhulebino district in southeast Moscow on Tuesday afternoon, during what officials said was a flight to test a new air conditioning system.
Officials earlier said that a technical glitch and pilot error were being investigated as possible causes of the crash.
The incident marked the second accident in Russia involving a Ka-52 helicopter in two years.
Two pilots died in March 2012 after their Ka-52 helicopter crashed during a training flight near the Torzhok military helicopter testing and training center in the Tver Region.
