Military Officers Sentenced for Cadet's Death During Training Parachute Jump

A court in Aktobe, Kazakhstan, has convicted two military servicemen for their role in the death of an 18-year-old cadet during a training parachute jump. The fatal incident occurred on July 15, 2025, at the "Aibyn" airfield.

The tragedy unfolded around six in the morning. Before boarding a Mi-8 helicopter, Major Nurzhan Aidenov inspected the parachute of second-year cadet Bakhyt Asarbayev. The court found that Aidenov, as the jump supervisor, committed a gross violation of safety rules.

He permitted the cadet to perform a familiarization jump using a manually-operated parachute. According to established regulations, such jumps must be conducted exclusively with automatically deployed parachutes to eliminate human error.

The cadets were performing training jumps from an altitude of 800 meters. At approximately 06:42, while at that height and traveling at a speed of about 140 kilometers per hour, Asarbayev's main parachute completely failed to deploy. The cadet, born in 2006, died instantly at the scene.

The Aktobe Garrison Military Court tried the case in an open format, with servicemen from the Begeldinov Military Institute of Air Defense Forces invited to attend. The defendants were Major Nurzhan Aidenov and Junior Sergeant Zamambek Tulegen.

Both were found guilty under Part 2 of Article 453 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan, which pertains to negligent performance of military duties resulting in grave consequences.

Judge Aidana Mambetkazieva announced the sentences. Major Aidenov was sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment in a minimum-security correctional facility. His pre-trial restraint was changed from house arrest to custody, and he was taken into custody directly from the courtroom.

Junior Sergeant Tulegen received a stricter sentence of five years' imprisonment.

In addition to the criminal penalties, the court partially granted a civil claim from the victim's family. The Ministry of Defense was ordered to pay compensation for moral damages amounting to 20 million tenge (approximately $42,000) to the deceased cadet's relatives.