An “unsecured” penguin kept in a cardboard box has been identified as the reason for a helicopter crash in South Africa.
The penguin created a “dangerous situation” when the box slid off a passenger’s lap upon takeoff and hit the pilot’s controls, an investigation by the South African Civil Aviation Authority found.
The incident took place on Bird Island off the Eastern Cape on 19 January, according to the official report.
The pilot of the Robinson R44 Raven II was unable to recover control and came down from a peak height of 15m. The main rotor blades struck the ground, wrecking the four-seat helicopter. No one on board was harmed during the accident, including the penguin.
The South Africa CAA in its report blamed “the lack of secure containment for the penguin” as being responsible for the crash.
Pictures from the incident included in the report showed that the helicopter was badly damaged and the bird’s enclosure was a cardboard box with holes. The report did not say why the penguin was being transported.
A pilot and three passengers on board along with the penguin were conducting an aerial survey flight in the afternoon and the specialist on board asked to transport one of the penguins back to Port Elizabeth.
“The pilot agreed to the request and the penguin was placed in a cardboard box,” it said.
“The pilot conducted a risk assessment of the flight; however, he omitted to include the carriage (transportation) of the penguin on-board.
“The passenger seated on the left front seat placed the cardboard box containing the penguin on his lap and secured it with his hands.
“Whilst transitioning and about 15m above ground level (AGL), the cardboard box slid off to the right and on to the pilot’s cyclic pitch control lever.
“As a result, the cyclic pitch control lever advanced to the far-right position. The helicopter rolled to the right and the pilot could not recover timeously.”
The report said that absence of a proper and secured crate meant that the “penguin’s containment was not suitable for the flight conditions”.
It added that the pilot “omitted to state in the risk assessment form the intention to transport the penguin in a cardboard box on-board”.
