One person still missing after aircraft that was returning from a firefighting mission crashed into river
Portugal has declared a day of mourning after a firefighting helicopter crashed in the Douro River leaving at least four dead and one missing.
The pilot survived the accident, which happened in Lamego a little after 12.30pm on Friday afternoon while the helicopter was returning from fighting a fire near Baião, just inland from the city of Porto.
Continue reading...Raisi and the foreign minister are missing after their aircraft came down in mountain terrain near border with Azerbaijan in heavy fog
A rescue operation is under way in the mountains close to the Iranian-Azerbaijani border after one of the helicopters in a convoy carrying Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, was involved in a “hard landing” on Sunday, according to Iranian state media. This is what we know so far.
The incident, which involved one helicopter in a convoy of three, was described by Iranian state television as an accident.
An unnamed Iranian official told Reuters that the lives of the president and his foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were “at risk” after a “crash” as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog.
Three rescue workers searching for the crashed helicopter were reported missing by the Red Crescent but were later accounted for. A spokesperson said the search and rescue operation will slow down as the weather is expected to get “severely cold” soon with more rain forecast.
Raisi was travelling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. State TV described the area of the helicopter incident as being near Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan.
The president had been in Azerbaijan earlier on Sunday to inaugurate a dam with the country’s president Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third one that the two nations have built on the Aras River.
Iran’s army chief of staff said all army resources will be used for the search and rescue operations, state TV reported. Maj Gen Mohammad Bagheri has also ordered guards to take part in the search efforts, it said.
Iraq has instructed its interior ministry, the Red Crescent and other relevant bodies to offer help to neighbouring Iran and assist in the search.
Continue reading...Access Bank CEO Herbert Wigwe, his wife and son die in crash, along with former group chairman of Nigeria’s stock exchange
The chief executive of Nigeria’s largest bank, his wife and his son were among six people killed in a Friday night helicopter crash in a remote part of the Mojave desert along the California-Nevade border, according to officials.
Access Bank CEO Herbert Wigwe, his wife, Doreen Chizoba, and son Chizi, died in the crash along with the former group chairman of Nigeria’s stock exchange, Abimola Ogunbanjo. Those identities were first released by the director general of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in a post on X.
Continue reading...Names of troops not yet released after aircraft went down in stormy weather in mountains near San Diego
Five marines who disappeared in a helicopter crash in the mountains outside San Diego, California, were confirmed dead, the military said on Thursday morning.
The names of the marines were not immediately released. They were first reported missing on Tuesday.
Continue reading...All three people on board, including the pilot, a flight nurse and a paramedic, were killed on 20 January in western Oklahoma
A dead goose was found in part of the flight control system of a medical helicopter that crashed in western Oklahoma, killing all three people on board, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
While it highlights the goose’s presence on board, the report stops short of specifying a suspected cause of the deadly crash. The report notes that other geese were found in the debris field left by the wreck.
Continue reading...Nepali pilot and five Mexican passengers killed after aircraft crashes soon after takeoff near Lukla
All six people onboard a tourist helicopter in Nepal have been killed after it crashed soon after takeoff in the Everest region.
The Manang Air flight was heading for the capital, Kathmandu, from near Lukla, a gateway for climbing expeditions to the world’s highest peak, with five Mexican tourists – two men and three women – and a Nepali pilot onboard.
Continue reading...Neil Hansford says operators around Australia face pressures after a fall in patronage during pandemic
Investigators will likely examine the number of helicopter joyrides operating at Sea World after a mid-air collision killed four people, an expert says.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating the cause of the crash which occurred when one helicopter was landing and the other had taken off at the Gold Coast theme park on Monday afternoon.
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Continue reading...Air force general Shen Yi-ming died when aircraft carrying 13 people went down near Taipei
Taiwan’s top military official was among eight people killed when a helicopter crash-landed on Thursday in a mountainous area near the capital, Taipei, the defence ministry has said.
The chief of general staff, air force general Shen Yi-ming, died in the incident while five of the 13 people onboard survived, the military.
Continue reading...