| 2024 Mari Petroleum Mil Mi-8 crash | |
| Image Upright: | 1.15 |
| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Summary: | Crashed after an engine failure, under investigation[1] |
| Site: | near the Shiwa oil field, Pakistan |
| Aircraft Type: | Mil Mi-8MTV-1 |
| Operator: | PANKH Helicopters, for Mari Petroleum |
| Tail Number: | RA-24537 |
| Origin: | Near Shiwa Oil Field, Waziristan, Pakistan |
| Destination: | Bannu, Pakistan |
| Occupants: | 15 |
| Passengers: | 12 |
| Crew: | 3 |
| Fatalities: | 6 |
| Injuries: | 9 |
| Survivors: | 9 |
On 28 September 2024, a Mil Mi-8 helicopter operating a charter flight to transport oil workers for the company Mari Petroleum, crashed near the Shiwa oil field, in Waziristan, north-western Pakistan.[2] According to a security official, there were 11 local passengers and 3 Russian crew on board. Three passengers and three crew members were killed.[1] [3]
The helicopter was a Mil Mi-8 of PANKH Helicopters operating for Mari Petroleum, a Pakistani oil company, and was transporting company's personnel to Bannu.[4] The aircraft was registered in Russia with tail number RA-24537, it was manufactured in 2020.[5]
The helicopter crashed near the Shiwa oil field after hitting the ground with the tail rotor, while attempting an emergency landing.[1] Pakistani authorities said that the crash was caused by an engine failure of unspecified causes. Of the 15 on board, 6 were killed including the 3 crew members.[6] [7] [8]
The injured were taken by airlift to the Combined Military Hospital Thal for treatment.[9] The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, and Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Faisal Karim Kundi, sent their condolences to the families of the victims.[10] Pakistani authorities launched an investigation of the accident.[9]