Mi-24 disaster: the Hero of Ukraine, Oleksandr Shemet, who was taking out the wounded from the blocked “Azovstal” was killed

Hero of Ukraine Oleksandr Shemet. Photo: Yuriy Shemet

The crew commander of the Mi-24 helicopter, which crashed during a combat mission on December 17, was a native of Chernihiv Oblast, Hero of Ukraine Oleksandr Shemet. It was he who in April 2022 carried out the last successful air raid on the blocked Azovstal plant in Mariupol.

Source: brother of the deceased Yuriy Shemet in the comment “To the public“

Details: According to a relative of the deceased, the tragedy occurred in the Cherkasy region. In the evening of December 17, the crew received an order to take off to intercept Russian attack drones of the “Shahed” type.

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The plane rose into the sky and kept in touch with the control center, but later disappeared from the radar. The bodies of four dead crew members were found at the crash site. There is currently no official conclusion on the causes and circumstances of the death of the military, the identification of the bodies is ongoing.

Direct speech: “Later, the helicopter was not detected on the radar at the control point. This indicates that it had already fallen. There is confirmation of the death. Four corpses were found at the place of the fall. All the crew members died. This is already a fact.”

Details: The commander’s brother reported that the preliminary investigation indicated a collision between the helicopter and the Shahed. The situation was complicated by the fact that the enemy drone was probably flying very low and was not detected by means of surveillance. As a result of the accident, the combat vehicle was critically damaged.

Direct speech: “Those people who conducted the investigation say that they have never seen anything like this before. The helicopter is so badly damaged that it can be said that it was completely torn to pieces. The bodies were badly burned. I still don’t know which “Shaheed” hit the helicopter either.”

Details: Currently, specialists are engaged in deciphering information from the flight recorder (“black box”). The family of the deceased, referring to previous data, rejects the versions about a machine malfunction or a pilot error.

Direct speech: “As my nephew told me, a malfunction of the helicopter or some kind of pilot error cannot be the cause of these events. The recorder clearly shows that all parameters worked normally.”

Details: Oleksandr Shemet was born in Koryukivka, Chernihiv region, but lived most of his life in Lviv region, where he served after graduating from the military college. He participated in anti-terrorist operations in eastern Ukraine since 2015, and at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, he defended Kyiv.

Military, he was awarded the “Cossack Cross” of the first and second degrees, the orders of Danylo Halytskyi and Bohdan Khmelnytskyi of the third degree. The pilot received the highest state award – the title of Hero of Ukraine with the awarding of the “Gold Star” order – for a heroic operation in surrounded Mariupol on April 5, 2022.

“He made a flight to occupied Mariupol, delivered ammunition and medicines there, and took the wounded back. When they were flying back, they came under heavy fire, but he managed to save the car, the crew and successfully return back.” – said the brother of the deceased.

Details: On December 13, Oleksandr turned 55 years old. Then the brothers spoke for the last time. In addition to his brother, Oleksandr is survived by his mother, wife, daughter and sonwho also became a soldier, following in his father’s footsteps.

What preceded:

• On December 18, the press service of the 12th separate brigade of army aviation named after Corporal General Viktor Pavlenko reported about the death of the Mi-24 helicopter crew during a combat mission. The brigade called this event an irreparable loss for aviation and the country, but did not reveal the names of the dead and the details of the incident.
• The 12th separate army aviation brigade is based in the city of Novy Kaliniv, Lviv region, and is subordinate to the command of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.