The crash of the VCG helicopter is being investigated by unprofessional officers?

The Ministry of Defense dismissed as incorrect "questions and insinuations about incompetence and covering up the causes and consequences" of the severe crash of the VCG helicopter type "bell 412 EP" on January 17 at the Golubovci military airfield during the implementation of the emergency helicopter inspection procedure, which in the meantime has been prohibited since the manufacturer of that aircraft itself.

That check was carried out by the crew of the helicopter (registration XHB 307), which, according to several well-informed sources of "Vijesti", was untrained for it.

"On the same day after learning about the occurrence of the event, on January 17, the commander of the Air Force acted according to the prescribed procedures, by forming an expert commission for the implementation of expertise on assessing the technical consequences of the damage to the Bell 412 helicopter." The commission consisted of two pilots, a lieutenant colonel - flight safety officer (about 30 years of service) and a major - crew leader on this type of aircraft (12 years of service), as well as an aviation engineer in the rank of major - chief of aviation technology (who in VVCG has been working for over 15 years). The commission conducted the procedure and stated in the report that the helicopter in question had exceeded the limit of the number of revolutions of the maximum values ​​for the parameter N2 (free turbine) and NR (number of revolutions of the supporting rotor). Such a conclusion instructed the authorities to look into the possibilities of sending the engine and the main rotor head for inspection/repair in accordance with the instructions for general repair in accordance with the valid agreements with the companies that deal with the servicing of this type of helicopter", "News" from the Ministry of Defense answered the question to comment on the composition of the Commission for investigating the extraordinary event of the helicopter crash.

However, in connection with this case, two commissions were formed: the first, which had the task of determining whether this expensive accident was the so-called "extraordinary event" as the army classifies all major incidents with the destruction or damage of material and technical assets on a large scale or the injury/death of a member of the army, and the second - investigative which will investigate the accident in detail and determine the reasons why it happened, and provide expert recommendations so that such a thing does not happen again in the future.

In this case, the first commission, which consisted of two pilots and the head of aviation technology, took 15 days to reach the final conclusion that the damage to the helicopter, the repair of which will reportedly cost between 300.000 and over a million euros, was still an "extraordinary event".

After that, by the decision of the commander of the VVCG Mixed Squadron, a Commission was formed to investigate the extraordinary event. According to the claims of well-informed "Vijesti" sources, three members of the VCG who do not have basic professional knowledge of aviation entered it: two officers, one of whom is a logistician who dealt with fuel supply in the VVC and graduated from the civilian faculty, and the other is a musician, former a member of the Military Orchestra, now serving in the Air Force, while the third is a non-commissioned officer - a military policeman who performs the duties of a clerk in the Air Force Command.

"Vijesti" sources claim that none of the three of them have specific knowledge about aviation, helicopters and the performance of air search operations, nor about the maintenance and exploitation of aircraft, and that it is likely that the investigative commission of this composition will determine the true causes of the extraordinary event and propose adequate measures related to flight safety and a number of other professional matters that such reports must contain are almost non-existent. According to the interlocutors, this means that the military leadership of the VVCG is allegedly trying to cover up this case as much as possible and that the real culprits are not punished.

However, the Ministry of Defense claims otherwise:

"Questions and insinuations about incompetence and covering up the reasons and consequences of this event are not true. The validity of the work of the Commission for investigating the causes of the extraordinary event and the circumstances in which the damage occurred is indicated by the fact that it consists of one major-staff officer for logistics (34 years of service), a captain-staff officer for operations (28 years of service) and one senior sergeant class I-staff non-commissioned officer for military-police affairs (with 24 years of service)", stated the Ministry of Defense, emphasizing that "the Minister of Defense has no doubts about her expertise, and the public will be informed about the results of the investigation in a timely manner".