Two injured as military helicopter crashes in MoscowOctober 29, 2013 - 18:33 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A military helicopter crashed Tuesday, Oct 29, afternoon in a district on the edge of Moscow, injuring two people, RIA Novosti reported. A law enforcement official said the ejection seats on the twin-seat Kamov KA-52 Alligator attack helicopter activated inadvertently, sending it crashing to the ground near the Vykhino-Zhulebino district in southeast Moscow. An Emergency Situations Ministry official said that flames caused by the crash spread across an area of 20 square meters. This is the second time in two years that a KA-52 helicopter has crashed. Two pilots died in March 2012 after the same model crashed during a training flight near Torzhok in the Tver Region. There have been previous accidents involving the single-seat Ka-50, from which the Ka-52 is derived. A Ka-50 crashed in June 1998 during an air display, killing the base commander at Torzhok. An official accident report said the helicopter's co-axial rotor blades collided during hard maneuvering. The Ka-50 and Ka-52 are unique among helicopters in having ejection seats. The seats operate after explosives in the rotor head blow off the rotor blades to give the crew a safe exit. The Ka-52 was displayed for the first time on an international platform at the 50th edition of Le Bourget airshow in June. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Armenia to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. U.S. reacts to Russia’s criticism of upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting Matthew Miller has weighed in on Russia’s criticism of an upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting. Lavrov sees ‘collapse’ of Russia’s ties with Armenia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has underscored heightened tensions between Russia and Armenia. Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. |