At least five people, including four senior executives of a Russian military factory, have been killed in a helicopter crash in the Republic of Dagestan. A Ka-226 helicopter was carrying employees of the EU-sanctioned Kizlyar Electromechanical Plant in Dagestan when it crashed in a village near the Caspian Sea.
Video footage of the crash, which occurred on November 7, went viral on social media, showing the chopper trying to land on a beach when its tail hits a rock, causing the rotor at the back to break off. The helicopter lost its balance as the tail hung from its body.
The helicopter later struck an unoccupied private house near the village of Achi-Su on the Caspian Sea, which was destroyed in the resulting fire, the state-run news agency TASS cited emergency service sources as saying.
🚨 BREAKING: Full video emerges of tragic Russian Ka-226 helicopter crash carrying key military factory workers.
In the disaster:
✅ Deputy General Director of Kizlyar plant
✅ Chief Engineer
✅ Chief Designer
All DIED.
Kizlyar develops critical onboard equipment for Sukhoi… pic.twitter.com/1e7ZCHfjYp
— Svilen Georgiev (@siscostwo) November 9, 2025
A separate video showed the moment the helicopter made impact with the house. It showed the chopper tore through the roof of the house before bursting into flames. Videos were also posted online showing firefighters rushing to put out a blaze that reduced the beachfront home to rubble.
The Kizlyar Plant later issued a statement saying four of its employees were among the casualties, including Achalo Magomedov, the company’s deputy general director of construction and transport support. A Ka-226 flight mechanic also died in the crash that injured two others.
Victims of Dagestan helicopter crash were defense industry workers
The four people killed in the Ka-226 crash in Achi-Su were employees of the Kizlyar Electromechanical Plant, a Russian military enterprise producing missile suspension and launch systems… pic.twitter.com/mhm75Sef7u
— GMan (Ґленн) ☘️🇬🇧🇺🇦🇺🇸🇵🇱🇮🇱🍊🌻 (@FAB87F) November 7, 2025
According to Nexta, an Eastern European news channel, the crash was caused by a “technical malfunction” with no suggestion of any wrongdoing.
Rosaviatsia, Russia’s federal aviation agency, meanwhile, classified the crash as a “disaster” and said it would participate in an official investigation.
The EU had sanctioned the Kizlyar plant in 2024 for producing aircraft equipment used by the Russian military. At the time, the EU claimed that Kizlyar Electromechanical Plant was “responsible for supporting materially actions which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”.
“It specialises in the development and manufacture of aircraft ground control and diagnostic systems and the production of attachments and on-board equipment,” it added.
The company produces the DZ-UM lock, a type of bomb rack for Russia’s SU-25 fighter jets, which was widely used by Moscow to attack Ukraine.
