Columbia Chinook Crash in Peru

[SASless]

Have seen brief reports of a Columbia Chinook crash in Peru.....killing seven crew on board. No details beyond that.

[spinwing]

I have just heard of a Columbia Helicopters BV234 going down in Chile ..

Has anybody heard anything ... I understand its not good news ...

[snotcicles]

Peru. Godspeed gentlemen.
Siete muertos por caída de un helicóptero en Ucayali - Actualidad | Perú 21 (http://peru21.pe/actualidad/pucallpa-siete-muertos-caida-helicoptero-2111393)

[TamairTarmac]

Helicopter crashes in Peru, killing all seven aboard | Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/08/peru-helicopter-crash-idUSL1E9C807Q20130108)

Jan 7 (Reuters) - A helicopter carrying seven people crashed in Peru's Amazon jungle on Monday and all aboard perished, a judicial official said on Monday.

Corpac, Peru's air transport agency, said the helicopter was operated by the local unit of U.S.-based Columbia Helicopters. Columbia is known for its tandem rotor heavy-lift aircraft used in logging and oil exploration work. Columbia's Lima office declined to comment.

Marco Ochoa, the judicial official, said five U.S. citizens and two Peruvians were on the helicopter and that rescue crews were recovering their bodies.

Local media reports said the people on board worked for Petrominerales Ltd, a Canadian-based oil exploration firm focused on Latin America. Petrominerales' Lima office declined to comment.

[spinwing]

My condolences to the families of all ....




Mods perhaps roll this thread into the other of the same subject ...

[Modtro]

Very sad news to wake up to...

For the non spanish speaking mates the news state the crew released the load after an explosion in one of the engines just before the crash, (Siete muertos por caída de un helicóptero en Ucayali - Actualidad | Perú 21 (http://peru21.pe/actualidad/pucallpa-siete-muertos-caida-helicoptero-2111393)), thanks for the link snotcicles.

My condolences to the families and friends of all.

[chiefedge]

My thoughts and condolences to the familys and friends of those involved. Difficult enough, more so being far from home, and in a remote area.

[TukTuk BoomBoom]

So they were slinging a load with passengers onboard?
That sounds pretty negligent even for South America

[SASless]

The reports stated it was "Crew"....not passengers.



Perhaps you might wait to hear what really happened before you make such crass comments.

[TukTuk BoomBoom]

No, i think that was pretty fair question.
Thats why there was a question mark after it..

Theres been quite a high accident rate in Peru lately.

[SASless]

It is off to the Peanut Gallery with you Tuk.....

[Tailspin Tommy]

I've never met a more professional organization than Columbia Helicopters. I've contracted their services for over 10 years in SE Asia and seen flight crews rotate between S. American and PNG many times. All professionals. SASless is correct; Take a seat, Tuk and let the investigation continue and stop the childish comments.

[TukTuk BoomBoom]

I see they're saying some of the victims may have jumped out before the crash
Mind you, these are media reports.

PanARMENIAN.Net - Mobile (http://panarmenian.net/m/eng/news/140086)

"Authorities are waiting for dental records Tuesday for technical identification of those bodies Larrea, the police chief, said those three bodies were not found close to the site of helicopter's crash and explosion, and that those bodies have no burn injuries leading authorities to believe the three passengers jumped out before the crash, CNN reported."

[before landing check list]

From Heliops forum...

"Columbia Helicopters sadly confirms the loss of seven employees in a crash of a Model 234 helicopter in Peru. The employees included five American citizens and two Peruvian citizens.

The helicopter was working near Pucallpa, Peru, under contract to support petroleum exploration operations. No other passengers were on board the tandem-rotor helicopter when it was lost on January 7.

“This is a very sad day for Columbia Helicopters,” said Michael Fahey, President of Columbia Helicopters. “We may operate globally, but we are still very much a family. The loss of our employees hurts deeply, and I knew most of these men personally.

Our employees are grieving, and we are praying for the family members of the friends we lost.” In conclusion, Mr. Fahey stated that, “as we grieve, we also immediately dispatched a management investigation team to Peru, and we will work closely with all authorities and witnesses to conduct a thorough investigation.”

Rest in peace guys

[alouette]

This is tragic news, but I hate to bring this up... what if someone else took a shot, and took the aircraft out? Or maybe I think too far ahead...

I actually took this BBC link to refer to this violent act which happened last year. However, I wouldn't want to rule out that someone might have taken a shot.

BBC News - Peru rebels burn helicopters at jungle airfield (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19858757)

[Semi Rigid]

Fair call alouette - cannot rule anything out at this stage.
The BBC footage shows the remains of an intense fire. Very sad and tragic loss.

[industry insider]

But the BBC footage is not of the Columbia BV 234, but aircraft destroyed in a raid at Cusco.

[snotcicles]

For those wondering why 7 souls on board while slinging, that is how a move between operating bases takes place. All crew on board with all their ops gear slung underneath.

[thewhiterabbit]

"I've never met a more professional organization than Columbia Helicopters. I've contracted their services for over 10 years in SE Asia and seen flight crews rotate between S. American and PNG many times. All professionals. SASless is correct; Take a seat, Tuk and let the investigation continue and stop the childish comments."

Amen to that. I worked along side Columbia in Afghanistan and they were the most professional civilian helicopter outfit there by a country mile. From the crews flying to how they were equipped and resourced by their HQ. The most immaculately maintained aircraft too. Close to 100,000 hours and they looked like they were brand new.

[Semi Rigid]

industry insider
Google Image Result for http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65148000/jpg/_65148636_de52.jpg (http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?q=peru+helicopter+crash+images&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&biw=1422&bih=716&tbm=isch&tbnid=PXj8u9MC0ODDIM:&imgrefurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-20945735&docid=R9GOoCCKEun6EM&imgurl=http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65148000/jpg/_65148636_de52.jpg&w=640&h=360&ei=n_XsUKqXDc6hkgXNxoDACA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=189&vpy=281&dur=136&hovh=168&hovw=300&tx=169&ty=109&sig=106559235184104933180&page=2&tbnh=135&tbnw=248&start=25&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:39,s:0,i:216)

helicopter carrying seven people has crashed in a village in the northern ...
bbc.co.uk

If you wait on the photo or click on the photo it plays a syndicated news article covering the accident site.
What industry are you an insider on?

[albatross]

Tragic news indeed.
I had the privilege of working beside the Columbia crews in Peru a number of years ago - a great bunch of guys and solid professionals too. A joy to watch their skills in operation.
Thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.

[SASless]

I have stood at a several sites like those.....and the experience is very sobering. The amazing forces that exist in large machines can cause such destruction when out of control due to a failure of some kind. Combine the large fuel load and way too often the result is as we see in the video.

My condolences to the Columbia folks and families for their loss of family, friends, and co-workers.

[industry insider]

Semi Demi

I was relating my comment to the link posted which was a link to rebels burning 3 helicopters

This is tragic news, but I hate to bring this up... what if someone else took a shot, and took the aircraft out? Or maybe I think too far ahead...

BBC News - Peru rebels burn helicopters at jungle airfield (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19858757)

I did not specifiaclly google the BBC for the BV234 Accident pictures, frankly I did not really need to look at a picture of another burned out helicopter in which 7 people perished.

[alouette]

@ industry insider;

I pasted this link into my post because of the recent violence in the area.

[The Sultan]

Has there been update on this accident? Initial press reports indicate a catastrophic event after loss of rotor sync. A continuing fatal flaw of tandems.

The Sultan

[Paul Stephenson]

I was the Crew Chief when Colimbias first Chinnok carshed in British Columbia.
This affected me very badly.Jim Coats gave me the biggest hug .
I had to get Jean Pecka out of the wreck.
He was dead under the fuselage and actually gave me a black eye when i fell on him.
Helor dddid give a crap of my condition and I had to spend months investigating and wondering what I did wrong.
I have deep feelings for this accident and pray for the Crew.
Mistakes do happen but who knows what went on.
I would never speculate:bored:
I now work for an Aerospace company and dont do that work heli logging

A day does not go by that I dont remember the guys or the crash.

[kwick]

Very sorry for the loss of lives, we have to work on avoiding the occurence of this kind of tragic events. Does anybody have any recent news or comments so we can get the updated info about this accident?