Táchira helicopter crash - Misplaced Pages

Helicopter crash in Venezuela

Táchira helicopter crash
Accident
Táchira in Venezuela
Date	3 May 2009
Summary	Undetermined
Site	El Alto de Rubio, Táchira, Venezuela 7°46′N 72°14′W / 7.767°N 72.233°W / 7.767; -72.233
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Mil Mi-17V-5
Operator	Army of Venezuela
Registration	EBV-08114
Passengers	15
Crew	2
Fatalities	17
Survivors	0

The Táchira helicopter crash was the loss of a Venezuela Army helicopter and its 17 occupants on 3 May 2009.

Crash

The helicopter crashed at around midday local time (16.30 UTC) near El Alto de Rubio in the north-western state of Táchira in Venezuela. All seventeen people aboard the aircraft were killed. The dead included one Brigadier-General, two army pilots, thirteen other army personnel and one civilian. Venezuelan authorities initially reported eighteen casualties but they later reduced the number to seventeen. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who was a retired army Lieutenant-Colonel, announced the incident in his weekly television broadcast and said "I pay tribute to these soldiers of the homeland, especially Gen Faneite, who was my cadet".

The cause of the crash is not yet known. It is known that the area was subject to adverse weather conditions prior to the crash. The aircraft involved was a Russian Mil Mi-17.

The crash occurred just days after Colombian President Álvaro Uribe asked for Venezuelan assistance in eliminating FARC guerillas on the Venezuelan side of the border. It is not yet known if the crash is linked to intensified Venezuelan military operations against the guerillas. The United States Department of State's annual assessment of terrorism also recently criticised Venezuela for failing to police the border and stated that Colombian rebels and paramilitaries "regularly crossed into Venezuelan territory to rest and regroup as well as to extort protection money".

References

^ "Venezuela army helicopter crashes". BBC. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
^ "Helicopter crash kills 18 soldiers in Venezuela". Associated press. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
"Las autoridades reducen a 17 los militares venezolanos fallecidos en un accidente de helicóptero". cadena SER (in European Spanish). Europa Press. 4 May 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
"World Briefing". Los Angeles Times. 4 May 2009. Archived from the original on 9 May 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
"Soviet Database". www.scramble.nl. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
"Accident Mil Mi-17V-5 (Mi-8MTV-5) EBV-08114". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 28 April 2024.

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 2009 (2009)
Jan 15 Makhachkala Ilyushin Il-76 collisionJan 15 US Airways Flight 1549Jan 17 French Air Force Eurocopter AS 532Jan 27 Empire Airlines Flight 8284Feb 7 Manaus Aerotáxi Embraer EMB 110Feb 12 Colgan Air Flight 3407Feb 25 Turkish Airlines Flight 1951Mar 12 Cougar Helicopters Flight 91Mar 20 Emirates Flight 407Mar 23 FedEx Express Flight 80Mar 25 Medair Bell 206Apr 1 Bond Offshore Helicopters Flight 85NApr 6 Indonesian Air Force Fokker F27Apr 9 Aviastar BAe 146Apr 17 Mimika Air Flight 514Apr 19 CanJet Flight 918May 3 Venezuelan Army Mil Mi-17May 20 Indonesian Air Force Lockheed L-100Jun 1 Air France Flight 447Jun 30 Yemenia Flight 626Jul 3 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17Jul 13 Southwest Airlines Flight 2294Jul 15 Caspian Airlines Flight 7908Jul 24 Aria Air Flight 1525Aug 2 Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 9760DAug 4 Bangkok Airways Flight 266Aug 8 Hudson River mid-air collisionAug 11 Airlines PNG Flight 4684Sep 2 Andhra Pradesh Government Bell 430Sep 9 Aeroméxico Flight 576Sep 22 Iranian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76Sep 24 SA Airlink Flight 8911Oct 21 Sudan Airways Flight 2241Oct 21 Northwest Airlines Flight 188Oct 22 Divi Divi Air Flight 014Oct 29 California mid-air collisionNov 1 Yakutia Ilyushin Il-76Nov 12 RwandAir Flight 205Nov 18 Pel-Air IAI Westwind IINov 28 Avient Aviation Flight 324Dec 22 American Airlines Flight 331Dec 25 Northwest Airlines Flight 253
2008 ◄ ► 2010

Aviation accidents and incidents in 2009 (2009)

Jan 15 Makhachkala Ilyushin Il-76 collisionJan 15 US Airways Flight 1549Jan 17 French Air Force Eurocopter AS 532Jan 27 Empire Airlines Flight 8284Feb 7 Manaus Aerotáxi Embraer EMB 110Feb 12 Colgan Air Flight 3407Feb 25 Turkish Airlines Flight 1951Mar 12 Cougar Helicopters Flight 91Mar 20 Emirates Flight 407Mar 23 FedEx Express Flight 80Mar 25 Medair Bell 206Apr 1 Bond Offshore Helicopters Flight 85NApr 6 Indonesian Air Force Fokker F27Apr 9 Aviastar BAe 146Apr 17 Mimika Air Flight 514Apr 19 CanJet Flight 918May 3 Venezuelan Army Mil Mi-17May 20 Indonesian Air Force Lockheed L-100Jun 1 Air France Flight 447Jun 30 Yemenia Flight 626Jul 3 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17Jul 13 Southwest Airlines Flight 2294Jul 15 Caspian Airlines Flight 7908Jul 24 Aria Air Flight 1525Aug 2 Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 9760DAug 4 Bangkok Airways Flight 266Aug 8 Hudson River mid-air collisionAug 11 Airlines PNG Flight 4684Sep 2 Andhra Pradesh Government Bell 430Sep 9 Aeroméxico Flight 576Sep 22 Iranian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76Sep 24 SA Airlink Flight 8911Oct 21 Sudan Airways Flight 2241Oct 21 Northwest Airlines Flight 188Oct 22 Divi Divi Air Flight 014Oct 29 California mid-air collisionNov 1 Yakutia Ilyushin Il-76Nov 12 RwandAir Flight 205Nov 18 Pel-Air IAI Westwind IINov 28 Avient Aviation Flight 324Dec 22 American Airlines Flight 331Dec 25 Northwest Airlines Flight 253

2008 ◄ ► 2010

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