On 8 September 2024, a Bell UH-1H helicopter operated by the Salvadoran Air Force that was flying from Choluteca in Honduras to San Salvador crashed in the Pasaquina municipality of La Unión Department, El Salvador. The crash killed all nine people on board, including Mauricio Arriaza Chicas, the head of the Salvadoran National Civil Police.[1]
 A Bell UH-1H similar to the crashed aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 8 September 2024 |
| Summary | Crashed in poor weather, under investigation |
| Site | Pasaquina, La Unión Department, 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 |
Background
editAircraft
editThe 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
editThe 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, including deputy police commanders Douglas Omar García Funes and Rómulo Pompilio Romero Torres, and three air force personnel on board, as well as the head of communication for the Security Cabinet.[3]
Accident
editThe aircraft departed around 20:00 local time, from Choluteca, Honduras.[2] Witnesses reported that the aircraft started to fly in an unstable condition until it finally crashed in the Pasaquina municipality minutes after takeoff, killing everyone on board.[5]
Aftermath
editImmediately, 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] He also expressed doubts about the incident being accidental and called for international assistance in investigating the disaster.[8][9] An official funeral for the victims was held at the former presidential residence in San Salvador on 11 September.[10]
References
edit- ^ "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.
- ^ Ives, Mike (9 September 2024). "El Salvador's Police Chief Dies in Helicopter Crash". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
- ^ Buschschlüter, Vanessa (9 September 2024). "El Salvador Police Chief Dies in 'Suspicious' Copter Crash". BBC News. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ "Emotivo sepelio del director general de la policía salvadoreña que falleció en accidente aéreo". Associated Press (in Spanish). 12 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
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