August 6 Helicopter Crash: See the List of Missing Safety Equipment That May Have Prevented Tragedy
· YEN.com.gh News · Join- The Z-9EH helicopter involved in the fatal August 6 helicopter crash had some major safety deficiencies
- The government has shared the long-awaited findings of the August 6 helicopter crash that killed eight
- The crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti region on August 6, 2025, claimed the lives of eight people
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The committee probing the August 6 helicopter crash has said the Z-9EH helicopter in question lacked key safety requirements that could have helped navigate the deadly weather that caused the crash.
Presenting details of the report at a press briefing, Captain (Rtd) Paul Forjoe said these systems could have saved the lives of the eight persons killed in the crash.
Source: Getty Images
During the press briefing, Forjoe said the safety equipment that was lacking could have given the pilots an advantage against the weather conditions that led to the crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District.
“It would have put the pilots in a better situational awareness mode and it would have put them in a much better place to have taken decisions which could have possibly avoided this.”
Forjoe said the equipment that was lacking was:
- Terrain Awareness and warning system
- Advanced terrain mapping navigation
- Automatic flight control system
That said, he added that the weather conditions which caused the crash presented a very difficult hurdle.
"What they went through is the sort of thing that even the best would have struggled to get out of.”
Cause of the helicopter crash
The committee found that the crash was caused by sudden weather conditions.
Forjoe explained that the accident was caused by the sudden loss of altitude and lift due to a downdraft, which is a downward current of air.
He explained that the loss of altitude without a change in power or pitch attitude was consistent with a downdraft associated with changing environmental conditions over high terrain.
Safety recommendations following helicopter crash
The committee said there was a need to modernise the fleet of the Ghana Air Force to boost safety.
Aside from this, it recommended that the state:
- Acquire modern aircraft with terrain avoidance warning systems and advanced navigation systems.
- Equip aircraft with voice recorders and audiovisual-capable flight data recorders.
- Invest in simulators for recurrent training, and contract certified aviation experts.
- Develop en route navigational aids, especially in remote areas.
- Establish a flight data monitoring and en route tracking system.
- Modernise ground support equipment to enhance operational safety.
Who died in the helicopter crash?
The August 6 helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District killed eight people, including two ministers.
The helicopter the officials were travelling in crashed into a dense forest as it was flying from Accra to Obuasi for the launch of the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme.
Source: Facebook
Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed were killed when the helicopter they were travelling in went down in the Adansi Akrofuom district.
The other civilians who died in the crash were former Obuasi East parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye, Deputy National Security Coordinator Limuna Muniru and National Democratic Congress (NDC) Vice Chairman Dr Samuel Sarpong, while the army personnel who died in the crash were Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah, Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala and Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu.
Fund to support children of crash victims
YEN.com.gh reported that the government announced the establishment of a Children’s Support Fund to cater for the children of the eight victims of the helicopter crash.
At the time it was formed, the president said Stanbic Bank had provided an initial seed capital of GHS500,000.
He expects the fund to cover the education of the victims’ children from primary school through to the university level.
Source: YEN.com.gh