Retired Air Force Officer Wing Commander Patrick Nelson Sogbodjor says the investigative report into the fatal 6 August military helicopter crash is comprehensive and credible, insisting that the incident was caused by an unavoidable weather phenomenon known as a down draft, not human error or mechanical failure.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday (12 November), Wing Commander Sogbodjor said the findings presented by the military’s Board of Inquiry reflect standard aviation investigation procedures, describing them as “very comprehensive” and “purely meteorological.”
“They gave us a very comprehensive board of inquiry, and this is common in aviation,” he said. “The down draft was a weather condition that developed suddenly. It was not something the pilots or the aircraft could have controlled.”
‘Purely a weather-related accident’
The retired officer explained that the helicopter, which was flying under visual flight rules (VFR) from Accra to Obuasi, had received clearance for good weather conditions at take-off. However, the weather changed abruptly near its destination, creating a violent down draft that caused the aircraft to lose altitude.
“They took off and were flying at their assigned height in good weather until about six minutes to Obuasi, when they ran into a down draft,” he said.
“Because helicopters fly low—about 1,000 to 2,000 feet above the highest object—the down draft pushed them downwards. They tried to climb out, but it was too strong.”
Sogbodjor likened the experience to a vehicle trying to accelerate uphill while being hit by a strong force of gravity. “If you climb a hill and suddenly lose power, you’ll roll back. It’s the same principle,” he noted.
Pilots did nothing wrong
He dismissed suggestions that the pilots may have misjudged the weather or made operational errors, stressing that both were highly qualified and experienced officers.
“There were two over-qualified pilots in the cockpit,” he said. “No pilot wants to die. If the weather was not good, they wouldn’t have taken off, and they wouldn’t have been cleared to fly.”
He added that given the forested terrain where the crash occurred, the pilots had no available space for an emergency landing once they lost altitude. “You can’t land on top of trees,” he said. “They had no room to manoeuvre.”
On the cockpit voice recorder
Commenting on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) retrieved from the crash site, Sogbodjor explained that while it provides insight into the pilots’ communication during the emergency, it cannot reveal mechanical data or flight parameters in the absence of a flight data recorder (FDR).
“The cockpit recorder only captures the pilots’ voices and conversations,” he said. “It tells you what they were discussing as they managed the situation, nothing more.”
Recommendations won’t have prevented the crash
Addressing recommendations from the investigative committee, Sogbodjor said that while suggestions to modernize the Air Force fleet and enhance safety systems were welcome, they would not have prevented this particular crash.
“The same type of helicopter has been flying safely across the country,” he said. “What happened was a weather phenomenon—modern instruments can help, but they can’t stop down drafts.”
He emphasised that Ghana’s Air Force maintains a strong safety record, noting that since its establishment in 1959, this was only the fourth major aviation accident involving the service.
Some details are classified
On concerns that parts of the report were withheld from the public, the retired commander said it is standard for classified information—including security-sensitive or technical details—to remain undisclosed.
“What needs to be told has been told,” he said. “The rest is classified. No government anywhere in the world makes all military flight information public.”
He concluded that the most critical facts—the cause of the crash and the exoneration of the pilots—have been fully disclosed.
“The aircraft and pilots were in perfect condition. The weather changed unexpectedly, and that’s what brought it down. There’s nothing more to hide,” he added.
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