11:16 30.09.2020

Terrorist attack as cause of An-26 crash in Kharkiv region can be excluded after explosion technology expertise – SBI

2 min read
Terrorist attack as cause of An-26 crash in Kharkiv region can be excluded after explosion technology expertise – SBI

The investigation does not discard all possible versions of the plane crash in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv region, the version of a terrorist attack can be ruled out after conducting an explosive examination, said Maksym Borchakovsky, the head of the Main Investigation Department of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI).

"All the versions that are now being heard in the media are not discarded .... Now the issue of the explosive expertise is being resolved. ... It will be carried out unambiguously. In addition to the explosive expertise, a technical investigation is underway," he told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Answering the clarifying question of the Interfax-Ukraine agency "whether this means that it will be possible to exclude the version of the terrorist act only based on the results of the explosive technical expertise, Borchakovsky said: "Yes, it will."

As reported, at about 20:50 on September 25, on the Kyiv-Kharkiv-Dovzhansky highway, a plane crash occurred. During planned training flights, an AN-26 military aircraft fell and caught fire, which was landing at the airfield of a military unit in the town of Chuhuiv, Kharkiv region.

There were 27 people (20 cadets and seven officers of the Kharkiv University of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine named after Kozhedub) on board. Twenty-five people died on the spot, two cadets were hospitalized. On the morning of September 26, one of the hospitalized died in the hospital, while another cadet survived.

According to the State Bureau of Investigations, the investigation is verifying four versions: a catastrophe due to a technical malfunction of the aircraft; catastrophe due to improper performance of their duties by the crew; improper performance of official duties by persons who were responsible for flight control; inadequate maintenance of the aircraft and its preparation for flight.

On the fact of the plane crash, criminal proceedings were started under Article 416 (violation of the rules of flights and preparation for them, resulting in a catastrophe and serious consequences) of the Ukraine's Criminal Code.

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