2024 Pasaquina Bell UH-1 crash
 A Bell UH-1H similar to the crashed. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 8 September 2024 |
| Summary | Crashed in poor weather, under investigation |
| Site | Pasaquina, El Salvador |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Bell UH-1H |
| Operator | Salvadoran Air Force |
| Flight origin | Choluteca, Choluteca, Honduras |
| Destination | San Salvador, El Salvador |
| Occupants | 9 |
| Passengers | 2 |
| Crew | 7 |
| Fatalities | 9 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On 8 September 2024, a Bell UH-1H helicopter operated by the Salvadoran Air Force that was flying from Choluteca to San Salvador crashed in the Pasaquina municipality in La Union, El Salvador. The crash killed all nine people onboard, including the Salvadoran Police chief Mauricio Arriaza Chicas.[1]
Background
Aircraft
The Aircraft was an Bell UH-1 Iroquois, operated by the Salvadoran Air Force, that was flying from Choluteca to San Salvador.[2]
Passengers and crew
The aircraft was transporting the police chief Mauricio Arriaza Chicas,[3] alongside him was Manuel Coto, a former bank manager accused of embezzlement, who had been detained and extradited on that same day in the Honduras-Nicaragua border.[4] There were also four police officers, three military personnel, and one news reporter on board.[3]
Accident
The aircraft departed around 20:00 local time, from Cholulteca, Honduras.[2] Witnesses reported that the aircraft started to fly in a unstable condition, and that there was no hope anyone would survive until it finally crashed in the Pasaquina municipality minutes after takeoff.[5]
Aftermath
Immediately, the witnesses of the crash praised the pilot, for trying to save the aircraft.[5] The only part of the aircraft that was left intact was the Empennage.[6] Hours later the Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, declared three days of mourning.[7]
See also
References
- ^ "Claves del accidente aéreo en el que falleció el director de la Policía de El Salvador". infobae (in European Spanish). 9 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
- ^ a b Avelar, Bryan (9 September 2024). "Muere el director de la Policía de El Salvador en un accidente aéreo". El País América (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Estas son las nueve víctimas del accidente aéreo en Pasaquina, La Unión". Noticias de El Salvador (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2024.
- ^ Flores, Javier. "Honduras lo entregó a El Salvador y minutos después murió en accidente aéreo". www.laprensa.hn (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2024.
- ^ a b ""Ese muchacho luchó para no caer": Testigo habla sobre piloto del accidente en El Salvador". www.elheraldo.hn (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2024.
- ^ "Video: Así encontraron el helicóptero que trasladaba a Mauricio Arriaza y tripulantes". www.elheraldo.hn (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2024.
- ^ "Bukele declara tres días de duelo por las víctimas del accidente aéreo en El Salvador". La Tribuna (in Spanish). 9 September 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
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