Ecuador Defence Minister dies in Helo Collision

[ORAC]

Ecuadorean official dies in copter crash (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4497626.html)
The Associated Press

QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador's first female defense minister died Wednesday in a collision of two helicopters that also killed her daughter and five members of the military, officials said. The wreck in the port city of Manta killed Defense Minister Guadalupe Larriva, 50, her daughter Claudia Avila, 17, and five officials, Interior Secretary Gustavo Larrea confirmed.

In a televised interview, Vice President Lenin Moreno said the helicopters were performing a night flight test "and in a bad maneuver it appears that the blades collided and the helicopters fell to the ground."

The crash took place near the military base in Manta, 160 miles southeast of the capital of Quito. No top ranking commanders were on board the helicopters, Moreno said. Pilot Celso Acosta and Coronel Marco Jurado were among the dead. The rest were not immediately identified......

[Head Turner]

Another sad, sad event and our thoughts are with the friends and relatives.

[charron]

Condolances to all. As a new Defence Minister I have to wonder if she understood the differences between civilian and military flying.

Night flight is risky, Night formation or fleet operations are riskier. Aircraft identified as Gazelles. Single-pilot VFR aircraft flown in formation at night even riskier yet. No criticism of the pilots, they are military and doing a job that is mission oriented and not accountable for the safety to the travelling public - otherwise the civil DCA would have ensured that many hurdles of competency had been met, and the risks mitigated.

Would any of you have let your kids ride in the back in those circumstances?

Charron