Chernobyl Mi-8 helicopter crash

Mil Mi-8 Helicopter Crashes in Chernobyl Disaster

Mil Mi-26 helicopter sprays a decontamination liquid or glue over the roof of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant reactor in 1986. (Chernobyl, Ukraine, 1986).
Date	2 October 1986 (1986-10-02)
Time	5-6 A.M
Location	Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Pripyat, Chernobyl Raion, Kiev Oblast, Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine
Type	Chernobyl Disaster
Cause	The Mi-8 helicopter poured sand into the exposed core of reactor 4 at Chernobyl, but glare from the sun blinded the pilot's vision making the crane cables difficult to see. The helicopter's blades hit the cables, and then crashed.
Outcome	4 Deaths form the Cup-2
Deaths	4 Deaths form the Cup-2 crew of Mi-8 Incident crash. 1. Captain Vladimir K.Vorobyov (retired military pilot colonel), 2. Senior Lieutenant A. Y. Yundkind, 3. Senior Lieutenant L. I. Khristich, 4. First Ensign N. A. Ganzhukr.

The Chernobyl Mil Mi-8 Helicopter crash occurred on October 2, 1986 as part of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant sarcophagus construction that followed the Chernobyl disaster. The crash occurred when the helicopter, Cup-2 struck a crane and resulted in the deaths of four crew members.

Crash

On October 2, 1986, Mi-8 helicopter with Cup-2 crews involved in the cleanup efforts crashed into the area near Reactor 4, RBMK-1000 type. The helicopter was flying too close to the reactor to drop sand and boron onto the exposed core, which was still emitting significant radiation. Unfortunately, the sun blinded the eyes of the pilots and the helicopter’s rotor blades struck a crane that had been used in earlier construction work, causing the aircraft to lose control and crash.

The accident resulted in the deaths of all four crew members onboard. This crash highlighted the extreme risks faced by the emergency responders who were trying to contain the disaster, often with limited safety protocols and in highly radioactive conditions. The courage of these responders is widely commemorated today, as they faced severe risks to mitigate the environmental and health impacts of the nuclear disaster.

Eyewitness statement

The Chernobyl Angels

From the memoirs of

• Major Vyacheslav Zheronkin (commander of an MI-8), as the eyewitness to the crash on board Mi-8 leaded by Captain Vladimir K. Vorobyov, a retired military pilot and colonel:

Another crew of the helicopter MI-8 before a flight to Chernobyl. (Historical collections of the Chernobyl accident)

“...The men were assembled from all over. Many of the helicopter pilots were veterans of Afghan. Some crews were called directly from their bases in Afghanistan to help manage the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster. Initially, we flew from Bagram to Ashgabat, thinking it was for leave, but then we were urgently rerouted to Kyiv. Landing in Zhulyany was prohibited to avoid alarming the public.”

Memorial

A memorial was constructed near the Chernobyl helipad. It incorporates a helicopter blade that was ejected from the crash site. At the base of the memorial, a brass plaque lists the names of the four men who lost their lives.

Chernobyl, Ukraine 2 October 1986.

• Captain Vladimir K.Vorobyov (retired military pilot colonel),

• Senior Lieutenant A. Y. Yundkind,

• Senior Lieutenant L. I. Khristich,

• First Ensign N. A. Ganzhukr.

The four crew members of the Mi-8 were posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Star, a decoration given to Soviet military personnel during peacetime for their role in ensuring public safety. A special committee, including representatives from the Soviet Committee for State Security, also known as the KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti), was formed to investigate the cause of the accident. However, no report on the incident was ever made public.