The military helicopter crash on August 6, 2025, was caused by a sudden loss of lift and altitude due to a strong downdraft, according to the investigation team that looked into the incident.
Captain (Rtd) Paul Forjoe, a committee member, presented the results at a public briefing on Tuesday, November 11, explaining that the aircraft’s deadly descent was caused by sudden changes in the environment while flying over high terrain.
According to the investigation, downdraft caused an abrupt loss of lift and altitude, which resulted in the disaster.
“This loss of altitude without a change in power or pitch altitude is consistent with a downdraft associated with changing environmental conditions over high terrain,” Captain Forjoe stated.
The committee, led by Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Acting Minister for Defence, was entrusted with figuring out what caused the catastrophe and suggesting how to avoid it.
Technical, operational, and environmental elements that led to the catastrophe were emphasised in its final report.
The Ghana Air Force’s Harbin Z-9EH military helicopter (tail number GHF 631) was involved in the collision.
On an anti-illegal mining operation, the aircraft took off from Accra at approximately 9:12 a.m. for Obuasi. However, it lost radar contact before landing in the Ashanti Region’s Adansi Akrofuom District.
Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, Minister of Defence, and Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology, were among the eight passengers and crew members that died on board.
Source: newsthemegh.com