G'day CoTB,
Bad weather suspected over copter crash
By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
BAD weather was suspected to have caused the helicopter to crash at Tolukuma in the mountainous Goilala district, Central province on Oct 20, Civil Aviation Authority general manager Clement Kapapal said last weekend.
“The helicopter had crashed when the area was covered heavily by cloud. But then this was just an informal report as the investigation is still going on,” he said.
“We will disclose the formal report after completing the investigation.”
The B206 Long Ranger owned by Heli Niugini was chartered by the Emperor mines to fly a coffin to the Kerame village about five nautical miles from the mine site for burial. It crashed on Oct 20 at 3pm, five minutes after taking off from the mine site.
Four people including the pilot died in the crash. They were pilot Cecil Hathaway, 59, from Port Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, Lawrence Aua, who worked in the logistic and supply department and Linus Kopa, who worked with the community relations department with the Emperor Mines. The other man was Jeffery Aeda, a Kerame villager who was accompanying the coffin to the village for burial.
Meanwhile, the body of the pilot is believed to have been flown home to Australia, while the rest are at the funeral home in Port Moresby.
Source:
http://www.thenational.com.pg/110206/nation30.htm
Cheers,
MPT