The Chernobyl Mil Mi-8 Helicopter crash occurred on October 2, 1986 as part of the

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant sarcophagus The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant sarcophagus or Shelter Structure (, ) is a massive steel and concrete structure covering the nuclear reactor number 4 building of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Built in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl ...

construction that followed the

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

. 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 The RBMK (, РБМК; ''reaktor bolshoy moshchnosti kanalnyy'', "high-power channel-type reactor") is a class of graphite-moderated nuclear power reactor designed and built by the Soviet Union. It is somewhat like a boiling water reactor as wate ...

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 A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility." Examples include lethal effects to individuals, la ...

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: “...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

. Initially, we flew from

Bagram Bagram (; Pashto/) is a town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir Valley, near t ...

Ashgabat Ashgabat (Turkmen language, Turkmen: ''Aşgabat'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag, Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km (30 ...

, thinking it was for leave, but then we were urgently rerouted to

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. 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 red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

, a decoration given to

Soviet military The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

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.

References

{{reflist Chernobyl, Ukraine Chernobyl disaster Accidents and incidents involving the Mil Mi-8