Details About Sinai Peninsula Crash That Killed 7 Soldiers

12.11/2020/ 10:46 LT

Tiran Island, near Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt

A UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the Sinai desert in Egypt, resulting in 7 fatalities (5 Americans, a French national and a Czech citizen). The helicopter belonged to 1st United States Air Support Battalion (USASB) Det.1 Aviation Company (Det.1/AvCo) based at Sharm El Sheikh.

According to MFO (Multinational Force and Observers) one occupant survived the crash. The US Army identified the dead as Capt. Seth Vernon Vandekamp, 31, from Katy, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Dallas Gearld Garza, 34, from Fayetteville, North Carolina; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Marwan Sameh Ghabour, 27, from Marlborough, Massachusetts; Staff Sgt. Kyle Robert McKee, 35, from Painesville, Ohio; and Sgt. Jeremy Cain Sherman, 23, from Watseka, Illinois.

The U.S. contributes the largest military contingent to the MFO, typically sending National Guard troops to the region on one-year rotations. An investigation into the helicopter crash indicate that a mechanical problem with the aircraft's stabilator preceded the disaster.

Two Mi-17 helicopters collided mid-air

in Afghanistan, 9 killed

13.10.2020/ 01:15 AM LT
Nawa-i-Barakzayi district, Helmand province, Afghanistan

 
Two Afghan National Army Mil Mi-17 helicopters crashed due to technical issues while they were taking off in Nawa district of Helmand province, around 01:15 LT.

9 individuals aboard were martyred in the crash. MoD is investigating the incident.

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11 Soldiers Dead In Colombian

Military Helicopter Crash
 

21.07.2020/ 03:00 LT
River Inirida in Guaviare state, Colombia

On 21 July 2020, Ejército de Colombia - División de Aviación Asalto Aéreo (Colombian Army Aviation) UH-60L Black Hawk, registered EJC2176 (serial number 702664), crashed in a rural area in the south-east of Colombia when it was making a flight between the towns from San José del Guaviare and Mitu (Vaupés). Authorities found the helicopter in a stretch of the river Inirida in Guaviare state, an area where dissident former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas are active. The Black Hawk was operated by Batallón de Aviación No.2 Asalto Aéreo which is based at CAT General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, Fuerte Tolemaida. According to the Colombian Army Air Assault Aviation Division Command, the helicopter disappeared around 03:00 hrs LT during an operational support mission. So far, six of the occupants on board of the Black Hawk, which fell into the Inírida River, have been rescued injured, but alive, 11 died (List). The armed forces high command did not reveal whether it was shot down or an accident.

Bluebird Aviation Dash 8 Catches Fire Following Somalia Crash
 

14.07.2020/ 13:30 LT
Beledweyne-Ugas Khalif Airport/ Somalia

A de Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 PF cargo plane (5Y-VVU), operated by Blue Bird Aviation was destroyed when it crashed at Beledweyne Airport in Somalia. The aircraft impacted small mounds that were used for runway maintenance work. A fire erupted, which consumed the aircraft. All three crew members survived the accident. The aircraft was charted by the US Department of Defense in support of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) near the area. The plane was carrying food supplies.
Sources reported that a donkey crossed the runway as the aircraft landed. The donkey was hit and the aircraft swerved off into a trench on the side of the runway

Cessna plane crashed in California killing all 3 occupants onboard

June 5, 2020, 08:01 Local
Redlands, California

Aviation Investigation Final Report

On June 5, 2020, about 0801 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 175, N9217B, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Redlands, California. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured.

The man identified by the San Bernardino County Coroner’s office as the pilot of the Cessna 175, Christopher Hark, 64, of Big Bear City, is the registered owner of the 62-year-old plane.

But Hark’s name does not appear in a search of FAA records for licensed pilots. An FAA spokesman said Thursday he was checking further.
Also killed in the crash were Sheryl Doucette, 40, and her daughter Gineva Doucette, 11, both of Big Bear Lake, the coroner’s office said. While Sheryl Doucette was not named as the pilot, her name also is not in the FAA records.

The noncertificated pilot was conducting a cross-country flight during daytime visual flight rules flight conditions. Recorded automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data showed that as the airplane was on a southerly heading, nearing the destination airport, it made a left 270° turn at an altitude of 5,125 ft msl. About 46 second later, the airplane completed the turn, and was established on a west-northwesterly heading, at an altitude of 5,275 ft msl. About 1 minute later, the airplane made a left turn to a southwesterly heading, at an altitude of 3,975 ft msl and continued to descend until ADS-B contact was lost 34 seconds later at an altitude of 2,775 ft, and about 436 ft northeast of the accident site. The accident site was in hilly terrain, about 3.47 miles southeast of the intended destination. There were no known witnesses to the accident sequence.

A postaccident examination of the recovered wreckage revealed no evidence of any preexisting mechanical malfunction that would have precluded normal operation. Weather data for the area around the accident site depicted favorable conditions for overcast clouds and restricted visibility with haze and clouds from the surface with tops near 4,300 ft. In addition, marginal visual meteorological conditions to instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed during the period, with instrument flight rules (IFR) to low IFR conditions being reported at the two closest airports southwest of the accident site. Due to IMC, the pilot likely did not have visible reference to the horizon during the descent to the destination airport, which resulted in a collision with terrain.
Whether effects from the pilot’s use of lamotrigine or some underlying medical condition contributed to the accident cannot be determined based on the limited available evidence. Some or all of the detected ethanol may have been from sources other than ingestion. It is unlikely that ethanol contributed to the accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The noncertificated pilot’s visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent impact with terrain.

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