01.09.2019/ 15:10H (07:10UTC) -

9 bodies retrieved from Calamba crash site

Seven dead in collision between helicopter

and small plane in Majorca

25.08.2019/ 13:35 LT
Spain/ Majorca/ Inca

 
Seven people, including two minors, were killed on Sunday in a collision between a Bell 206L-3 LongRanger III helicopter (D-HOTT) and a light plane, Aeroprakt A-22L Foxbat (EC-GU1), on the Spanish island of Majorca. Five people were on board the helicopter, two of them minors. Two adult Spaniards were in the small plane. All the people on board the two aircraft were killed.
A well-known German family celebrating a birthday has been identified as the victims of a helicopter crash near the Spanish island of Majorca, according to reports. Brewery heir August Inselkammer Jr., 43, and his wife, Christina, 41, died while traveling on the chopper with their two children, Max, 11, and Sophie, 9, for the dad’s birthday lunch. The pilot, Cedric Leoni, and two other passengers also died in the midair collision over the city of Inca. The Inselkammer family reportedly was visiting the island with friends and they planned to take two helicopters to lunch. But when the choppers arrived, the group decided that some members of the trip would take a car because one of the choppers was too small. The cause of the accident in the municipality of Inca was not yet known. Emergency services were notified of the crash at 1.35pm local time. The aircraft had crashed into a farm field.
“My solidarity and love for the families of the victims that lost their lives in this tragic accident,” Spain’s acting prime minister Pedro Sánchez tweeted.

Mercy mission helicopter flight crashes in Fiji, killing Australian pilot, mother and child

02.08.2019/ daylight
Fiji/ off Korotasere/ Natewa Bay

Gilbert Parker, an Australian pilot is missing presumed dead after his helicopter crashed in seas off Fiji on 02 August 2019. Mr Parker was a pilot for the Savasi Island Resort in the town of Savusavu.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji in a statement had confirmed that the four-seater white Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter, registration DQ- HPT, is owned by Parker Equipment Hire Ltd based in Savusavu.
“Evidence found at the scene suggests that the helicopter had impacted the water at a relatively high speed and that there are no survivors.”
Mr Parker was transporting a two-year-old boy EJ and his mother Taraivosa Moceisuva to hospital near the island of Vanua Levu, when his helicopter crashed.
Police said the mother's body was recovered by villagers from the Natewa Bay shoreline and a post-mortem examination was conducted. The woman was found still wearing the lifejacket but the child’s lifejacket was found only. Search operations has been discontinued for the wreckage of the Robinson 44 helicopter.
Investigator In Charge Andrew McGregor said there has been several challenges.
“These include large areas of sunken reef on the Western side of Natewa bay which pose significant risks to sea craft and specialist sonar equipment; the depth of channels which are near the limit of diver capability together with the strong currents at these locations; and the likelihood that the helicopter broke up on impact. In that case it is likely that the strong sea currents have transported the helicopter sections several miles from the initial point of impact, making discovery of significant wreckage even with substantially greater search resources, unlikely. For these reasons all those involved in leading the search operations have decided to call off the search.
Despite the fact that significant wreckage has not been found, many pieces of the helicopter such as sections of Aluminium skin, seat squabs, personal effects and the body of one of the passengers has been found along several miles of the Western coast of Natewa bay. However we regret to advise that neither the pilot nor the remaining passenger have been found.”

Air Saguenay plane crash in Labrador,

4 dead and 3 missing

15.07.2019/ Canada/ NL/ Mistastin Lake
Air transportation safety investigation A19A0052

On 15 July 2019, the float-equipped de Havilland DHC-2 MK I Beaver aircraft (registration C-FJKI, serial number 992), operated by Air Saguenay (1980) Inc. (Air Saguenay), was conducting a day trip under visual flight rules from a fly-in fishing lodge on Crossroads Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador, to Mistastin Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador. There were 1 pilot, 2 guides and 4 fishermen on board the aircraft. The purpose of the flight was to travel to Mistastin Lake for a day of fishing. Mistastin Lake is approximately 16 km by 11 km in area and over 200 feet deep in places, and is accessible only by air. There was some fog and mist in the morning, and the flight was delayed leaving the lodge, departing between 0900 and 0930.
When the aircraft did not return to the lodge in the evening, staff attempted to communicate with the aircraft through a radio at the lodge, and also through Air Saguenay's dispatch in Wabush, Quebec. When no communication was established, the company implemented its emergency procedure and first contacted the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Trenton at 20:38. A search and rescue effort was initiated.
At around 05:00 on 16 July, the SAR aircraft spotted the occurrence aircraft's fuselage floating in the water. The fuselage was inverted and partially submerged. The engine, wings, and floats had detached from the fuselage and were not visible. The bodies of 3 passengers were recovered from the water, the temperature of which was 6 °C to 7 °C.
On 24 July, the body of a fourth passenger was recovered. None of the 4 passengers were found wearing personal flotation devices.
The search ended on 08 August 2019. The recovery team did not locate the remaining occupants or the wreckage. The pilot and the 2 other passengers are still missing.
The pilot, 61-year-old Gilles Morin, had 20,000 hours of flying experience, according to Jean Tremblay, the chief executive of his employer, regional airline Air Saguenay. Morin had been flying in and out of Mistastin Lake, where the plane's wreckage was found, for at least six years.

Boeing 737 crashed into the St. Johns River