Criminal case into flight safety violations opens after Mi-24 crash

MOSCOW, February 4 (RIA Novosti) - Investigators in the Saratov Region in Russia's Volga Federal District have opened a criminal case into flight safety violations following a Mi-24 Hind combat helicopter crash in which three people died.

The accident occurred at 11:45 a.m. Moscow time [08:45 GMT] on Tuesday at Pugachyov aerodrome in the Saratov Region. The helicopter crashed 18 kilometers from the aerodrome killing all three crewmembers.

The military investigation department at the Investigative Committee of Russia's Prosecutor General's Office said the cause of the crash could be either "technical failure" or "pilot error."