NEED TO KNOW
- A helicopter crash in Ghana on Wednesday, Aug. 6, killed eight, including top government officials
- The Ghana Armed Forces first announced that the Z9 helicopter had dropped off radar, before later confirming that all aboard were dead
- The group, which included the country’s minister of defense and minister of environment, science and technology, was traveling to the Ashanti region to investigate illegal mining
Top Ghanaian government officials and service personnel were killed in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, Aug. 6.
Julius Debrah, the government’s chief of staff, announced the news in a televised press conference, hours after a social media post from Ghana’s armed forces said that a Z9 helicopter traveling from the capital city of Accra to the Ashanti region had gone “off the radar.”
“I have the unpleasant duty, suddenly, to announce a national tragedy involving the crash of a military helicopter this morning,” Debrah said.
A cause of the crash has not yet been announced.
All eight passengers aboard the helicopter were confirmed dead, including Edward Omane Boamah, the minister of defense, and Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, the minister of environment, science and technology. The group was on an official trip to investigate illegal mining in the Ashanti region and encourage responsible practices, The New York Times reported.
Other passengers included Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, the acting deputy national security coordinator; Samuel Sarpong, the vice chair of the National Democratic Congress political party; Samuel Aboagye, the deputy director general of Ghana’s disaster relief agency; as well as Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manaen Twum Ampadu and Sgt. Ernest Addo Mensah.
“We extend condolences to the bereaved families,” the Ghana Armed Forces said in their statement confirming the tragedy.
“Our hearts are heavy!” read another tribute post. “You served our nation and the colours gallantly. Rest In Peace!”
Additionally, Debrah commanded that all flags in Ghana be flown at half-staff until further notice.
The crash comes just days after new details were released in the investigation into the January 29 collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger plane that killed 67 people near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday, July 30, that some of the Army helicopter’s altimeter readers, which help pilots understand how high an aircraft is flying, were inaccurate.
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The chopper was well above the 200-foot limit at the time of the collision, although it’s unclear if the pilot and crew were aware of that. Investigators think that they likely believed they were flying lower than they really were.
The investigation is ongoing into the decisions and malfunctions that contributed to the United States’ deadliest aviation crash since November 2001.
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