The Mi-8 helicopter belonging to the border police had a near miss at the weather station in Kazbegi. While trying to land, the helicopter touched the ground with the front landing gear but managed to abort the landing. The incident happened on June 26. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the incident was caused by a sudden downward wind shear.
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The border police chopper was on Mount Mkinvartsveri to help Polish rescuers.
“As a result of a downward shift of wind, the front landing gear of the helicopter struck the ground, which caused a recoil, but professional and experienced pilots were able to stabilize the craft, go around, fly to Tbilisi, and land safely on the base of the border police,” says the statement issued by the Ministry today.
One year ago, the rescue operation in Gudauri involving another Mi-8 ended in tragedy. On July 29, 2022, a paraglider rescue operation was underway with the help of a Border Police helicopter, when the helicopter crashed and exploded. There were 4 crew members, 2 rescuers, and 2 medics on board. All eight people were killed. The helicopter was piloted by experienced pilot Zaza Loria. Dimitri Kaadze, Levan Chokheli, and Andro Kujoshvili were among the crew members. Emergency medical center doctors Ketevan Gulaghashvili, and Giorgi Venetski, and rescuers Giorgi Margiani and Kakha Torchinava were also on board.
The footage taken by eyewitnesses shows that after clipping a rock, the helicopter’s tail rotor was damaged, and completely shook itself loose in a few seconds, after which the helicopter entered an uncontrollable spiral and crashed. The helicopter exploded upon impact and completely burnt down. Mechanical failure was also named as a possible cause of the crash, which the Ministry of Internal Affairs denied and said that the old tail screws on the Border Police helicopter were replaced with new ones in March 2022, according to international aviation safety regulations and in full compliance with the rules.
The investigation into the possible violation of air transport operation rules was initiated under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, but details on the progress of the investigation are closed to the public.
