Mi-35 Helicopter Crashed in Nigeria

1 December, 2023 Mi-35 attack helicopter of the Nigerian Air Force. Photo from the network A Russian-made Mi-35 attack helicopter of the Nigerian Air Force crashed in Nigeria.

The BBC reported on this. The crash occurred in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, where the Mi-35P attack helicopters received from Russia are deployed. The helicopter was part of the 115th Special Operations Group and was used to support ground forces.

A Mi-35P helicopter of the 115th Special Operations Group.

Photo from the network

Along with the Mi-35P, the unit includes Mi-24P/B, EC135 and T129 ATAK helicopters. According to the spokesman for the Nigerian Air Force, Edward Gabkwet, all on board survived. The crash occurred after taking off for a combat mission against 'economic saboteurs' in Rivers State, at 7:45 a.m. local time.

Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, the Chief of the Air Staff of Nigeria, flew to the crash site to personally assess the situation and visit the pilots, who are currently in hospital.

The crash site of the Mi-35 helicopter in Port Harcourt. Photo from the network

So far, the Nigerian Air Force has already lost two Mi-35P helicopters. In January 2019, a Mi-35 helicopter crashed in Damasak, Borno State, while providing support to troops from the 145th Battalion, which was engaged in fierce fighting with Boko Haram insurgents.

All on board died in the crash. As Militarnyi previously reported, a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft overran the runway and crashed into the water in Hawaii.

The aircraft ended up in shallow water in Kaneohe Bay. The incident occurred around 2:00 p.m. on Monday local time. There were nine people on board the P-8A Poseidon, all of whom were safely evacuated to shore.

The weather was bad when the U.S. maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft landed on the island.

According to local meteorologists, it was cloudy and raining on the day of the accident.

Visibility was about 1.6 kilometers.