2015 Belgrade helicopter crash

Aviation incident in Serbia May 2026 2015 Belgrade helicopter crash Mi-17 12551 V i PVO VS, september 01, 2012.jpg 1.15 The helicopter involved in the crash, photographed in 2012 Crash 2015 03 13 y Helicopter crashed due to low visibility Surčin, Serbia 7 1.15 Mil Mi-17 Serbian Army 12551 Novi Pazar Raška Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport 7 4 7 0 On 13 March 2015, a Serbian Army Mil Mi-17 helicopter crashed just short of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport while transporting a five-day-old baby with respiratory problems to a nearby hospital. All seven people onboard, including four crew members, two medical personnel and the baby, were killed. The baby had to be flown from Novi Pazar to Belgrade by helicopter because of a landslide-induced road obstruction. The flight was ordered by Health Minister Zlatibor Lončar and Defence Minister Bratislav Gašić. Due to inclement weather, the helicopter made several circles around the airport and two landing attempts before crashing. After the tragedy, it was revealed that the Government officials disregarded safety regulations in order to use the flight as a propaganda tool. This was confirmed by the fact that, before the crash, several government-affiliated news outlets had published a pre-written story about a "successful rescue operation" only to retract it when it became clear that the operation had ended in disaster. Although the pilot had asked for permission to divert the flight to either the Military Medical Academy's heliport or the Batajnica Air Base, this was repeatedly denied. The reason was speculated to be Lončar's desire to personally welcome the baby at the airport in front of the cameras for his personal self-promotion. A national day of mourning was declared by the Serbian government on 15 March. Although several military rules were breached by those who ordered the operation, no criminal charges were ever laid and all the blame was shifted to the pilots. This case has since often been cited as one of the best known examples of corruption and lack of accountability in Serbian politics. Incident The Serbian Army Mil Mi-17 helicopter was carrying a five-day-old baby with life-threatening respiratory problems2015-03-14 Mourning in Serbia after deadly baby rescue helicopter crash https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31889073 2025-06-24 BBC News en-GB to Belgrade for treatment at the Institute for Health Care of Mother and Child.Cvetković Ljudmila 2015-03-14 Srbija: Pao helikopter koji je prevozio bebu, nema preživelih https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/srbija-srusio-se-vojni-helikopter-koji-je-prevozio-bebu/26900610.html 2025-06-24 Radio Slobodna Evropa sh Military had been called out after an ambulance carrying the baby from Novi Pazar to Belgrade was blocked by a mudslide about 200 km (120 miles) south of Belgrade, near Raška. The helicopter departed from Novi Pazar and landed in Raška to receive the baby on board. Around 10:15 p.m. the helicopter crew made two landing attempts at the Belgrade Airport, but both were unsuccessful due to low visibility. Although the pilot asked for permission to divert the flight to either the Military Medical Academy's heliport or the Batajnica Air Base, this was repeatedly denied.Milovanović Tanja 2024-03-13 Sedmoro mrtvih, nula odgovornih i delovi letelice na otpadu: Slučaj pada helikoptera devet godina bez odgovora na ključna pitanja https://nova.rs/vesti/hronika/sedmoro-mrtvih-nula-odgovornih-i-delovi-letelice-na-otpadu-slucaj-pada-helikoptera-devet-godina-bez-odgovora-na-kljucna-pitanja/ 2025-06-23 NOVA portal sr-RS The control tower lost contact with the helicopter at 10:30 p.m. and the helicopter disappeared from air traffic controllers' radar at 10.34 p.m.2015-03-14 Serbian military helicopter crashes, seven dead including child https://www.reuters.com/article/world/serbian-military-helicopter-crashes-seven-dead-including-child-idUSKBN0MA082/ 2025-06-24 Reuters en-US All seven people aboard were killed when the helicopter crashed into nearby fields.2024-03-13 Devet godina od pada helikoptera u Surčinu - ključna pitanja bez odgovora https://n1info.rs/vesti/pad-helikoptera-surcin/ 2025-06-23 N1 sr-RS Beside the baby, the helicopter was carrying four army officers (two pilots and two flight engineers) and two medical staff (a doctor and a technician). Brigadier general Predrag Bandić, commander of the 204th Air Brigade, said that the weather was "not dangerous, but was complex, so that pilots with such experience and equipment should have been able to handle it". He was the one who personally ordered the pilots to fly and stated that he would not have done so if the weather conditions had been dangerous. Helicopter The helicopter involved in the incident was a Soviet-produced Mil Mi-17 (Serbian Army's designation HT-48), serial number 341M15,Mi-8 c/n 341M15 https://www.scramble.nl/database/soviet/details/134_45869 2026-06-17 Scramble Soviet Database identification code 12551, produced in 1991.Izveštaji o padu vojnog helikoptera Reports on a military helicopter crash https://vreme.com/projekat/izvestaji-o-padu-vojnog-helikoptera/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20250810175735/https://vreme.com/projekat/izvestaji-o-padu-vojnog-helikoptera/ 10 August 2025 24 June 2025 Vreme It was acquired by the Serbian police helicopter unit in 1997Error Message - Helicopter-DataBase https://www.helicopter-database.de/data-aircraft-record.php?index=XXX08E-341M015_3 2026-04-04 www.helicopter-database.de or 1998 from Azerbaijan Airlines, and transferred to the military in 2002. It received one general maintenance, in 2010. The last general inspection of the helicopter was carried out in December 2014. The crew routinely checked the helicopter before the flight and observed no defects. Its magnetic compass was defunct and removed for repair in February 2015, but the commanding officer permitted the helicopter to be used without it from 2 to 16 March. The helicopter was last used on 11 March. In the military report, the helicopter was deemed to be well maintained and fully functional. Victims horizontal right center 400 Mehić Ramiza Omer, pilot.jpg Đukarić Ostoje Milovan, pilot.jpg Drajić Radoja Nebojša, mehaničar-letač.jpg Miladinović Milana Ivan, mehaničar-letač.jpg Omer Mehić, army major, pilot Milovan Đukarić, army captain, pilot Nebojša Drajić, warrant officer, flight engineer Ivan Miladinović, warrant officer, flight engineer All seven people aboard the helicopter died in the accident: Omer Mehić, army major, pilot Milovan Đukarić, army captain, pilot Nebojša Drajić, warrant officer, flight engineer Ivan Miladinović, warrant officer, flight engineer Dževad Ljajić, medical doctor Miroslav Veselinović, anesthetic technician unnamed 5 days old baby of the Ademović family After the accident, defense minister Bratislav Gašić claimed that the army lost its best pilots, that Mehić was "one of the best pilots of the Serbian Army", and that he "saved more than a thousand lives in different rescue operations". 14 March 2015 Poginuo jedan od najboljih pilota https://www.b92.net/o/info/vesti/index 2025-06-24 B92.net sr He also said that Mi-17 was "the best [helicopter] in the Serbian Army" and "fully equipped for search and rescue operations". Ministry of Defense awarded 1.2 million dinars to the families of each military victim.Petrović M. R. 2015-09-16 Porodicama poginulih pilota po 1,2 miliona dinara https://www.blic.rs/vesti/drustvo/porodicama-poginulih-pilota-po-12-miliona-dinara/e8jplks 2025-06-24 Blic sr 15 March 2015 was declared a national day of mourning by the Government of Serbia. Investigation Two commissions were immediately formed by the Army to investigate the incident. 2025-03-13 Decenija “slučaja helikopter”: Ni spomen-obeležja, ni odgovornih https://insajder.net/teme/decenija-slucaja-helikopter-ni-spomen-obelezja-ni-odgovornih 2025-06-24 insajder.net sr Helicopter's flight recorder was difunctional and last record was from 2011. The commission claimed that the cause of the tragedy was "miscommunication with the air traffic control". They also claimed that Mehić had blood alcohol content of 0,068% and urine alcohol level of 0,13%. Mehić's wife said that this was impossible as her husband never drank alcohol. Despite the claim that Mehić was drunk, Serbian president Tomislav Nikolić posthumously awarded him the Medal for Bravery. Seven months after the crash, disciplinary proceedings were initiated against Bandić and general Ranko Živak for procedure violations. They were punished with two years of prohibition of advancement in service. This was later overturned after an appeal. Fifteen months after the crash, the public prosecutor declined to investigate, citing that the military commissions found no evidence of criminal behavior. Controversy Soon after the crash, two questions drew controversy: Why the military helicopter was ordered to land on the civilian airport, and not on the Batajnica Airbase or the Military Medical Academy's heliport; and why was it decided to fly to Belgrade and not to much closer Kragujevac Clinical Centre. The official investigation never gave any answers to those questions. Minutes before the crash, several media outlets reported about a "successful rescue operation" and how healthcare minister Zlatibor Lončar "personally welcomed the baby at the airport".2023-03-13 Za pad helikoptera kod Surčina 2015. nije kriva posada već vojni vrh, tvrdi penzionisani vazduhoplovni zastavnik https://www.danas.rs/vesti/drustvo/za-pad-helikoptera-kod-surcina-2015-nije-kriva-posada-vec-vojni-vrh-tvrdi-penzionisani-vazduhoplovni-zastavnik/ 2025-06-24 Dnevni list Danas sr Those reports were soon retracted, when the news about the crash arrived, although some newspapers were already sent to print, so the "news" about the "successful operation" was printed. This drew attention to the possibility that the safety of the crew was disregarded in order to use the rescue operation as a propaganda tool for Lončar. It was revealed that the whole operation was orchestrated by Zlatibor Lončar and defense minister Gašić. Retired warrant officer of the aviation Saša Jovanović said that the helicopter was ordered to land at the Belgrade airport despite low visibility, only because of the Lončar's desire to welcome the baby in front of the cameras. Although several military regulations were breached, no one was ever punished for this. The blame was shifted to the dead crew members. The helicopter accident has since often been cited as one of the best known examples of corruption and lack of accountability in Serbian politics.2023-11-30 Deset najvećih afera u poslednjih 10 godina koje su ostale bez epiloga https://n1info.rs/vesti/deset-najvecih-afera-u-poslednjih-10-godina-koje-su-ostale-bez-epiloga/ 2025-06-23 N1 sr-RSPetrović Ivica Ako pogazite institucije sistema, afere vam neće naškoditi https://www.dw.com/sr/ako-pogazite-institucije-sistema-afere-vam-ne%C4%87e-na%C5%A1koditi/a-50492034 2025-06-23 Deutsche Welle sr See also List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (2010–2019) References Further reading https://vreme.com/projekat/izvestaji-o-padu-vojnog-helikoptera/ live Izveštaji o padu vojnog helikoptera Vreme https://web.archive.org/web/20250810175735/https://vreme.com/projekat/izvestaji-o-padu-vojnog-helikoptera/ 10 August 2025 24 June 2025 Reports on a military helicopter crash Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2015 Belgrade helicopter crash Belgrade helicopter crash Category:2015 in Serbia Category:2010s disasters in Serbia Category:2010s in Belgrade Belgrade helicopter crash Category:March 2015 in Europe Category:Accidents and incidents involving military helicopters