Russian Copter Crash Kills Pilot; Craft Grounded

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) - Russian news agencies say the Defense Ministry has grounded its fleet of Mi-28 attack helicopters following a crash in the south of the country that killed the pilot.

The agencies said that the military helicopter crashed in daylight Tuesday attempting an emergency landing after engine failure in the province of Stavropol. A co-pilot was injured, the reports said.

The military routinely grounds aircraft after disasters.

The Mi-28 is nicknamed Night Hunter because of its sophisticated radar equipment that allows night missions, and is roughly analogous to the U.S. Boeing AH-64 Apache.

It entered service in 1996.