According to the Armenian side, the helicopter belonged to the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army and was participating in the week-long joint Armenian-NKR Unity 2014 military exercises in the disputed region.

A statement released by Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry claimed the helicopter belonged to the Armed Forces of Armenia[2] and was preparing to attack Azerbaijani positions in the Aghdam district.

[3] According to British analyst Thomas de Waal, it was shot down "in the no-man's land between the two armies" and added that the helicopter "was not attacking Azerbaijani positions but had apparently broken into an informal five-kilometer no-fly zone the two sides had agreed on.

Two Mi-24s are seen flying parallel to the line of contact, as the launch of a surface-to-air missile, identified as an Igla-S MANPAD, is heard off screen and one of the helicopters is struck and crashes to the ground.

[8] "Hay Zinvour", the official newspaper of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia confirmed that three deceased crew members were trained at Military-Aviation Institute in Yerevan.