Mi-24 helicopter crash: Hero of Ukraine Oleksandr Shemet, who made last air breakthrough to Azovstal, killed. PHOTO
The commander of the Mi-24 helicopter crew, which crashed while performing a combat mission on 17 December, was Oleksandr Shemet, a native of Chernihiv region and Hero of Ukraine. It was he who made the last air breakthrough to "Azovstal" in April 2022.
This was reported to "Suspilne" by the brother of the deceased, Yurii Shemet, according to Censor.NET.
Details of the tragedy
According to the brother of the deceased, the tragedy occurred in the Cherkasy region.
"On the evening of 17 December, an order was received to take off to intercept the 'shaheds'. The aircraft took off and maintained contact with the control centre. Subsequently, the helicopter was no longer visible on the control centre's radar. This indicates that it had already crashed. There is confirmation of the crash. Four bodies were found at the crash site. All crew members were killed. This is a fact," said the brother of the deceased soldier.
According to him, a preliminary investigation has established that the helicopter collided with a "shahed".
"There are also circumstances that this 'shahed' was not visible at the control point. Apparently, it was flying very low. The people who conducted the investigation say that they have never seen anything like this before. The helicopter was so badly damaged that it was, so to speak, completely torn to pieces. The bodies were badly burned. I don't know yet what kind of 'shahed' hit the helicopter," Yurii said.
The investigation is ongoing
The brother of the deceased commander said that the identification of the bodies of the victims and the investigation, which includes decoding the data from the helicopter's 'black box,' are currently ongoing.
"As my nephew told me, a helicopter malfunction or pilot error cannot be the cause of these events. The recorder clearly shows that all parameters were working normally," Yurii added.
What is known about Oleksandr Shemet
Oleksandr Shemet was born in Koriukivka, Chernihiv Oblast, but spent most of his life in Lviv Oblast, where he served after graduating from military academy. He participated in the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine since 2015, and defended Kyiv at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.
He has the following awards:
- "Cossack Cross" of the 1st and 2nd degrees
- was awarded the orders of Danylo Halytskyi and Bohdan Khmelnytskyi III degree.
Oleksandr Shemet received the title of Hero of Ukraine with the award of the "Golden Star" Order after the last air breakthrough to "Azovstal" in Mariupol. He carried out the combat mission on 5 April 2022.
"He flew to occupied Mariupol, delivered ammunition and medicines there, and brought back the wounded. When they were flying back, they came under heavy fire, but he managed to save the aircraft and crew and return safely," said the brother of the deceased soldier.
On 13 December, Oleksandr Shemet turned 55. He is survived by his wife, daughter, son, brother and mother. Oleksandr's son is also a soldier.
What preceded
- As a reminder, on 17 December, while performing a combat mission to repel an enemy attack, the crew of a Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopter of the 12th Separate Brigade of Army Aviation named after General Viktor Pavlenko was killed.
