2016 Colombian Army helicopter crash

Aviation accident in Colombia September 2019 2016 Colombia army helicopter crash Mil Mi-17 of the Colombian Army.jpg 1.1 A Mil Mi-17 of the National Army of Colombia. Accident 2016 06 26 y Bad weather Pensilvania, Caldas, Colombia Mil Mi-17 National Army of Colombia EJC-3393 Quibdo, Choco, Colombia Tolemaida Air Base, Tolima, Colombia 17 12 5 17 0 A Mil Mi-17 of the National Army of Colombia was reported missing after taking off from the city of Quibdó on 26 June 2016. The wreckage of the helicopter was found the following day in mountainous terrain in the department of Caldas, 180 km north-west of the capital city Bogotá. It was the third helicopter crash in Colombia in 2016, and with seventeen killed was the worst accident in eleven years for the Colombian military. Accident On 26 June, the Colombian air force took part in an offensive against the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerilla group in the department of Chocó, in the west of the country. Following the operation, the helicopter with registration number EJC-3393, took off at 2 p.m. local time from Quibdó, the capital city of the Chocó department, bound for the Tolemaida Air Base in the department of Tolima Its final report was made from a position 35 miles north of the town of Mariquita before disappearing.Factores climáticos habrían causado accidente de helicóptero: Ejército http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/justicia/desaparece-helicoptero-militar/16630326 El Tiempo Spanish 27 June 2016 4 August 2016 Local people in the municipality of Pensilvania in the department of Caldas reported seeing the helicopter and hearing an explosion. The search team consisted of the 22 Infantry Battalion along with members of the civil defense corps, the police, the fire brigade, the Red Cross, and volunteer members of the public from Pensilvania. The wreckage was located on 27 June on a mountain side at an altitude of between 2300 and 2400 metres above sea level. Contrary to the locals' reports of an explosion, the army confirmed that no explosion appeared to have taken place, and that the helicopter appeared to have crashed directly into the mountain and broken apart on impact. All 17 people on board died in the accident.Seventeen Colombia soldiers killed in helicopter crash https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-crash-idUSKCN0ZD2AI Reuters 27 June 2016 4 August 2016 Investigation Preliminary investigations into the cause of the accident pinpointed bad weather as the most likely cause. The head of the Colombian army, General Alberto José Mejía Ferrero, said that the helicopter had hit the mountain almost head-on and blamed poor visibility.Siniestro de helicóptero es el peor accidente militar en 10 años http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/justicia/accidente-de-helicoptero-del-ejercito-en-caldas/16631505 El Tiempo Spanish 28 June 2016 4 August 2016 However, he indicated that a full investigation would be carried out in order to determine the exact causes of the accident. The accident occurred less than a year after a similar incident that killed 16 military personnel, which may have been shot down. Earlier in 2016 two other helicopters had crashed in Colombia, one killing 4 and one killing 3.https://colombiareports.com/4-policeman-killed-northeast-colombia-helicopter-crash/ 4 police killed in northeast Colombia helicopter crash 14 March 2016http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/03/22/3-die-in-helicopter-crash-in-colombia/ 3 Die in helicopter crash in Colombia Fox News Latino Fox News 28 June 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160731153903/http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/03/22/3-die-in-helicopter-crash-in-colombia/ 31 July 2016 dead Another recent crash also injured 4 people.November 2020 References Colombia Category:2016 in Colombia Category:Accidents and incidents involving military helicopters Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2016 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Colombia Category:Caldas Department Category:June 2016 in South America