Airbus H225 Super Puma: EU imposed a flight ban on the helicopter model / What happened?
Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyj and other people died in a helicopter crash near the capital Kyiv. The crash happened in the city of Brovary near a kindergarten and an apartment building. The city borders on the eastern outskirts of Kyiv. According to the Ukrainian civil protection authority, a total of 16 people are said to have died, including three children. 30 other people were injured and taken to hospitals. According to the disaster agency, the crash caused a fire over an area of 500 square meters, which was extinguished within half an hour.
The helicopter comes from the State Service for Emergency Situations, which reports to the Ministry of the Interior. In addition to the interior minister, according to the police, his deputy Jehvhenij Jenin and state secretary Yuri Lubkovich died. There were nine people on board.
The helicopter was an Airbus H225 Super Puma, which had been used by the Home Office since at least 2018. In total, the ministry is said to have at least five of the helicopters in service.
What is known about the Minister of the Interior and what are his/her tasks?
Denys Monastyrskyj was appointed Interior Minister by President Volodymyr Zelenskyj in 2021. The Ministry of the Interior is responsible, among other things, for the national police, the national guard, civil defense and is also responsible for border protection and customs. Before joining the ministry, Monastyrskyj had studied law and practiced law. In 2019 he entered the Ukrainian parliament.
In a first reaction, the Ukrainian president and the head of his presidential office, Andriy Yermak, called Monastyrskyj and his colleagues “true patriots”.
What is known about the cause of the crash?
Nothing was initially known about the cause. According to the national police, “all relevant and specialized services” are on site. The crime scene is being investigated. Deputy head of the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on Ukrainian television that the helicopter was on its way to a place where hostilities were taking place, without giving any further details. Official statements from Russia were initially not available.
According to the spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuri Ihnat, determining the cause will take some time. “It won’t just take a day or two, because investigating a flight disaster takes a certain amount of time,” said Ihnat.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) imposed a temporary flight ban on the H225 in 2016 due to safety concerns. Previously, one of the helicopters was grounded in the North Sea, killing 13 people. The Bundeswehr also had three of the helicopters in service, among other things to transport the then Chancellor Angela Merkel and the ex-Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen. Although the machines were not identical to the helicopter that crashed at the time, the flights were then suspended before EASA imposed the flight ban.
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