Lamego, Portugal, Sept. 4, 2024 (Lusa) - The pilot of the helicopter that crashed into the River Douro said that before the accident he had observed ‘a medium-sized bird’ on the same flight line, forcing him to ‘take a diversion’, but the investigation has yet to determine where he executed this manoeuvre.
The data is contained in an Information Note (NI) released on Tuesday by the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Accidents with Aircraft and Railway Accidents (GPIAAF), to which the Lusa agency had access, with the first evidence of the accident, which took place on Friday in Lamego, and which caused the death of five officers from the GNR/Emergency, Protection and Relief Unit (UEPS), who were returning from a fire in the municipality of Baião.
The organisation said that ‘on the flight back to the base in Armamar (Viseu), the aircraft began a steady descent, where it flew over the left (south) bank of the River Douro towards the town of Peso da Régua’.
‘During this descent, according to the pilot's [sole survivor] statements, he observed a medium-sized bird at the same altitude and in the helicopter's trajectory, which forced him to take a right turn and resume his route immediately afterwards. From the data collected so far, it has not been possible to determine the point at which this manoeuvre was executed independently,’ says the GPIAAF.
Then, at 11.32 a.m., the investigation adds, ‘maintaining its descent towards the river in a left turn, the aircraft collided with the surface of the water at a speed of around 100 knots (185 km/h) for reasons yet to be determined’.
‘In the energy dissipation process during the collision, the pilot, seated on the right, and the occupant of the left cockpit seat were thrown out of the aircraft. The collision resulted in fatal injuries to the 5 members of the UEPS and serious injuries to the pilot, who managed to surface and be rescued by people at the scene,’ the NI reads.
According to the GPIAAF, ‘the evidence suggests that the aircraft's engine was producing power at the time of the collision’.
‘From the violent collision with the water, the helicopter suffered cabin deformation incompatible with the survival of its occupants. The document describes that the structural integrity was compromised, releasing part of the composite cladding elements.
The low-density components remained on the surface while the rest of the wreckage settled on the riverbed ‘between four and six metres deep in an area of approximately 3,600 square metres’.
The GPIAAF also said that the helicopter returned to its base in Armamar after realising that its intervention was unnecessary.
‘After flying over the town of Fojo [in the municipality of Baião], following an assessment of the scenario by the UEPS team leader on board, at 11:30, it was decided to return to base as there was no justification for using its resources on a fire with a perimeter that had already been circumscribed,’ says NI.
Five GNR UEPC officers and the pilot were on board at the time of the accident, which took place in the Samodães area, in the municipality of Lamego (Viseu). The pilot is the only survivor who remains in hospital but is in no danger.
The bodies of four soldiers were recovered on Friday, and the fifth was found on Saturday afternoon.
The soldiers who died in the accident were aged between 29 and 45. Three were from Lamego, one from Moimenta da Beira and another from Castro Daire, in the Viseu district.
The crashed helicopter, model AS350 - Écureuil, was operated by HTA Helicópteros, a company based in Loulé, Algarve. It was returning to the Armamar Air Media Centre when it crashed.
JGS/ADB // ADB.
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