Court finds Bek Air pilots guilty in 2019 plane crash

Tengrinews.kz — The Turksib District Court of Almaty has issued a verdict in the case of the 2019 Bek Air plane crash, declaring both pilots guilty.
The Fokker 100 aircraft operated by Bek Air crashed on December 27, 2019, shortly after taking off from Almaty en route to Astana. The plane lost altitude, struck a fence, and collided with a two-story house near the airport. There were 93 passengers and five crew members on board. Twelve people were killed in the crash.
Captain Marat Muratbayev, 58, died at the scene, while co-pilot Mirzhan Muldakulov, 54, was hospitalized and discharged in stable condition on January 21, 2020. He died a week later.
The criminal case was opened under Part 3 of Article 344 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan — violation of air traffic or operation safety rules resulting in the death of two or more people through negligence.
The court found both pilots guilty but did not impose a sentence due to their deaths.

“Marat Muratbayev and Mirzhan Muldakulov are found guilty of violating air safety rules leading to the death of two or more persons through negligence, without sentencing due to their passing,” the judge stated.

The state will cover procedural costs amounting to 1.7 million tenge. The arrest of Bek Air’s property will remain in place until the review of civil claims totaling 4.8 billion tenge.