Captain (Rtd) Paul Forjoe, a member of the investigative committee that examined the military helicopter crash on August 6, has characterized the emergency response to the incident as prompt, given the challenging conditions at the crash site.
During a public briefing on Tuesday, November 11, Captain Forjoe presented the committee’s findings, noting that first responders arrived at the scene within two hours of the crash, despite facing difficult terrain and adverse weather conditions.
“The fact that these first responders were able to reach the site in approximately two hours was impressive, considering the steep slopes of the terrain,” he remarked.
“It was raining, and the ground was slippery, making the task quite challenging… we can assert with confidence that the emergency response was indeed timely.”
The investigative committee, led by Acting Minister for Defence Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, was assigned the responsibility of determining the cause of the crash and suggesting measures to avert similar incidents in the future. The report concluded that the helicopter experienced a sudden loss of altitude and lift due to a downdraft over elevated terrain, leading to the crash.
The Harbin Z-9EH military helicopter (tail number GHF 631), operated by the Ghana Air Force, had taken off from Accra en route to Obuasi for an anti-illegal mining operation when it lost radar contact and subsequently crashed in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region.
