This year marks the 14th anniversary of the National Guard’s Mi-35 helicopter crash that killed Squadron Leader (I) Andreas Papasozomenos and Russian Colonel Yuri Oleini.

MIl-35P Helicopter of the National Guard (with original paint)

The helicopter with distinctive number 822 had taken off from Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos to perform an educational flight on July 5, 2006 at 09:12 in the morning. Squadron Leader Andreas Papasozomenos was in the position of the Pilot and Colonel Yuri Oleino, who was a senior inspector / trainer in the Air Force Command of the Russian Armed Forces, was in the position of Co-Pilot.

Mil-35P debris in the Agia area. Marinouda Paphos © KYPE

Ten minutes after takeoff, the helicopter crashed next to the Paphos – Limassol highway, at the height of the garbage dump close to ​​Agia Marinouda. The fatal helicopter was seen maneuvering over the highway, gaining altitude and then falling to the ground at high speed, resulting in the immediate death of the crew.

Squadron Leader (I) Andreas Papasozomenos

The Squadron Leader Papasozomenos Andreas was born in 1976 in Astromeritis village while his family is originally from the occupied village of Katokopia Morphou. He graduated from the Hellenic Air Force Academy in 1997 with the rank of Second Lieutenant. 

Squadron Leader (I) Andreas Papasozomenos Monument

On December 13, 2015, the then Minister of Defence, Christoforos Fokaidis, unveiled the statue of the Squadron Leader, which was erected at the entrance of the Astromeritis community.

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