Russian Defence Ministry: Mi-24 helicopter crashes into the Black Sea

A Mi-24 military helicopter crashed in the Black Sea off the western coast of Crimea, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday, April 10.

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The helicopter crashed at about 6 a. m. local time while performing a scheduled flight. Equipment failure is believed to be the preliminary cause of the crash.

The department did not say anything about the fate of the crew.

The Mi-24 is a Soviet attack helicopter. Its unofficial name is "Crocodile". As of 2021, it was the second most common military helicopter in the world after the American AH-64 Apache. Ground forces use various modifications of the helicopter for combat, landing, transport and sanitary missions.

• On April 9, the press service of the Eastern Interregional Transport Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee reported that a Mi-8 helicopter made an emergency landing due to a technical malfunction in the Khabarovsk Territory. No one was hurt, the helicopter was not damaged either.
• In mid-March, an Mi-8 helicopter, which was transporting gold mine workers, crashed in the Magadan region. One person was killed and two others were injured.
• In January, the Russian Defence Ministry reported the crash of an Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft in the Belgorod region. There were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew members and three accompanying persons on board the aircraft. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under articles of a terrorist attack in connection with the incident. President Vladimir Putin said that the Il-76 was shot down by US-made Patriot anti-aircraft missile system.