On June 19, a video surfaced on social media showing a damaged Ka-52 helicopter flying at a low altitude with its tail visibly torn apart after an in-flight breakup.
The in-flight breakup of the Ka-52 attack helicopter was caused by unanticipated severe vibrations as the aircraft attempted to gain the necessary speed and altitude.
A photo of the aircraft after landing reveals how that part of the empennage was twisted around to more than 90 degrees, but it has no visual damage typical of an anti-aircraft missile hitting a helicopter.
The real operating experience in the war conditions in Ukraine confirmed that the Ka-52 helicopter is prone to excessive vibrations that lead to mechanical failures and vibration-induced fatigue.
The exact reason for a Ka-52 helicopter being operational over Ukraine with severe damage to its tail assembly remains uncertain.
There have been claims surrounding the incident, suggesting that the crew’s choice to jettison external stores, particularly the fuel tanks, ultimately led to the damage inflicted on the tail of the Ka-52 helicopter.
According to these claims, one of the fuel tanks purportedly encountered an unfortunate trajectory, being thrown back into the slipstream and subsequently impacting the tail section.
While the video footage does not offer a definitive assessment, it is worth noting that four items can be observed being jettisoned, hinting at the possibility of drop tanks (commonly carried in pairs) and rocket pods being discarded during the sequence of events.
