The State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) has notified of suspicion commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Drozdov and the flight director and commander of a military unit in connection with the AN-26 plane crash near Chuhuiv in Kharkiv region, the Bureau reported.

"To date, the SBI... has received evidence, on the basis of which individuals involved in the organization of these flights are reasonably suspected, who have committed violations in their official activities. To date, we have handed a written notice of suspicion to the head of the military unit's flights, who on that day was in charge of flight control, to the commander of the said military unit, who approved the flight plan with violations, and was also notified of the suspicion, to the Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who committed negligence in relation to their official duties, which led to a tragedy," said head of the Department of the State Investigation Directorate of the SBI Vadym Pryimachok at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday.

As reported, the An-26 plane crashed on the Kyiv-Kharkiv-Dovzhansky highway, not far from Chuhuiv at about 20:50 on September 25. The plane crash happened when the aircraft 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 Kharkiv University of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine named after Kozhedub) onboard. Some 25 people died instantly, two were hospitalized. On September 26, one of the hospitalized cadets died.

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 Ukraine's Criminal Code.