Combat helicopters support Russian aircraft in hotbeds after South Sudan incident
MOSCOW. May 13 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian companies contracted by the United Nations took additional precautions after the tragic incident with a Russian helicopter in South Sudan, UTair airline general director Andrei Martirosov told a press conference at Interfax on Monday.
"Flights in the interests of peacekeeping missions are done exclusively with the support of combat helicopters. Solo flights have stopped," he said.
"We are interacting rather closely with all UN missions, including the ones deployed in South Sudan, North Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, Lebanon and Western Sahara," Martirosov said.
Speaking of the recent tragedy with a Nizhnevartovsk airline helicopter in South Sudan, he said, "The helicopter crashed as a result of a combat attack."
"I think the security measures will enable us to work normally," Martirosov said.
The United Nations also took precautions, he said. "This tragedy once again shows that the work for the UN is not easy and it is full of serious challenges, but as long as security measures are taken and risks are properly deterred one may work on that market successfully," he said.
A Mil Mi-8 helicopter of Nizhnevartovskavia with a crew of four men contracted by the UN mission in South Sudan was shot down by the People's Liberation Army on December 21, 2012.
Tentative reports said the helicopter was performing a reconnaissance flight on the UN mission's orders. A missile damaged the helicopter's systems and sparked a fire. The helicopter crashed and the crew died.
