An Excerpt Overview- Bristow Helicopter Augusta Bell Civil Helicopter Crash Report) and the comparative analysis of Z-9 military helicopter crash at Sikaman, near Adanse Akrofuom, Obuase, Ashanti.
On Wednesday, the 6th day of August 2025, in the forenoon, Ghana, was hit with yet another bad news- this time, from the Chief of Staff at the Presidency- Julius Debra, concerning a military helicopter crash, reportedly, in and around the thick forested belt of Sikaman village, near Adanse Akrofuom, and to a larger extent, Obuase- a mining city, in the Ashanti Region, killing everyone (8), onboard the military helicopter- Z-9, owned by Ghana Armed Forces.
There were three (3) air force personnel- the pilot & 2 others and five government officials, attending a scheduled state function (tagged, briefly here as ‘responsible mining’) that fateful morning. The Defence Ministry and indeed, the government source, named the victims of the crash, which included among others, the Defence Minister- Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, and the Environmental Minister- Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. The others are as follows:
Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna (Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator), Dr. Samuel Sarpong (Vice Chairman, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Mr. Samuel Aboagye- Deputy Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO). And a former NDC parliamentary candidate of Obuase, Adanse, the very place where the programme- “responsible cooperative mining and skills development initiative”, aimed at combating illegal mining (galamsey), was scheduled to take place.
The air crew had been identified and named as below: Squadron leader Peter Bafemi Anala (the pilot), flying officer Malin Twum-Ampadu and Sgt. Ernest Addo Mensah, all of the Ghana Airforce. The Ghana Armed Forces source had told earlier on Wednesday that it had lost contact with the helicopter Z-9, which was en-route from Accra to Obuase, in Ashanti.
In an official statement made available by the Ghana Armed Forces command, we learn that the Z-9 military Helicopter, which could not reach its destination, “took off on Wednesday morning, the 6th August at 9:12 AM from Accra but not long after, got off aviation radar.” By this report, it is told that everything was done to establish contact helicopter but without success. Some local residents at the Sikaman village, near Adanse Akrofuom, in the Adanse East District, Ashanti Region, who took to the social media, explain that an unusual noise, was overhead and did witness the genesis and the eventual boom crash of the GAF aircraft.
According to this unofficial account, this might have occurred around 10AM or thereabouts. Narrating his story, in a facebook posted video, one of the alleged eye-witnesses, who claims to have been on spot at the accident scene, and exhibiting what appears to be a black “timer watch”, found at the helicopter crash area, stated that the bodies found so far there, had burned to ashes or beyond recognition. Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin- a spokesperson for the G.A.F., confirms the three crew and five passengers, who boarded the helicopter, to Obuase.
The armed force press release, earlier on before crash, read in part as follows: “A Ghana Armed Force helicopter, Z-9, that took off this morning at 0912hrs from Accra and heading for Obuasi is currently off the radar. All efforts are being made to establish contact. On board were 3 crew and 5 passengers. Further details to be communicated soon”, Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin (Ghana Navy), Acting Director General, Public Relations, advised in the release.
So far, the identities and the professional backgrounds of the victims of the Z-9 crashed military helicopter, according to the recent government’s disclosed forensic reports, had been, reportedly, established and two of the victims- Dr. Murtala Mohammed and Alhaji Muniru Limuna, as Islamic faith dictates, had been on Monday, 10 August, laid to rest at the military cemetery, in Accra. The six, as agreed by family and government, were on Friday, 15th August, 2025, solemnly took their respective turns and national mourning. Already and ahead of these, were 3 days, set for Ghana’s Flag, to fly at half-mask, in their honour- observing, appreciating and cherishing their steadfast contributions to the country.
That said, and for the purposes of this research article, and before taking a brief look at our main topic, “A Ghana Aviation and A Helicopter Crash History Report of 1972”, we single out the brief profile of the Z-9 military Helicopter pilot- Squadron leader Peter Bafemi Anala:
He is a commissioned officer with the Ghana Air Force (BBC report paraphrased).
His Alma mater- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), 2008 Year Group- studying computer engineering. Following his undergraduate studies in 2012, he was enlisted into the officers corps of the Ghana Armed Forces (Ghana Military Academy and Training School- MATS, Teshie, Accra), eventually becoming an air force officer (pilot)
He is reported to have returned to KNUST, in 2021, to pursue master of science in air transport and aviation management. According to BBC (Pigen), at time of death, he had been enrolled on a post-graduate programme for safety and accident investigation, in the United Kingdom. The three crew onboard Z-9 Helicopter, were stationed at Takoradi air force base.
Squadron leader Peter Bafemi Anala’s flight hours and experiences with the Z-9 military helicopter, whose recent crash, has plunged the nation into dismay, uncontrollable sorrows and questions, are not yet known- and therefore, couldn’t have been recorded in this article.
Perhaps, in finding clues and historical or technical analysis to the recent crash near Obuase, the BBC(PIGEN), has tabled the following below, worthing our comparative consideration:
- June 2012, a Nigerian freight jet crashed in Ghana, killing at least 10 people. The cargo plane was trying to land at Kotoka airport but crashed into cars with passengers in the streets.
- 25 June 2020, one military aircraft crash-landed at Ganvuliga, in the Kumbungu District, Northern Region. A reported statement from the Armed forces command at the time- one Aggrey- Quashie, said “that they recovered all four crew and four other military personnel for di aircraft within minutes without any fatalities and injuries.”
- 19 March 2024, another military helicopter crash-land in one community in the Ahanta West Municipal District, in the Western Region. For that incident, 21 people were in the aircraft- the assembly member for the area. Thomas Dadzie, at the time confirmed to local media network Connect FM that they rushed three people to hospital and rescued three others. (BBC)
These are what we have been informed about and educated on, of recent past, up until the 6th August 2025 tragedy. What The OmanbaPa Research Group @ JusticeGhana.com, is about to share with you, in excerpts, dates back to 22 July 1970. And the crash investigative report of 1972. It’s our view that probably, some comparative learning-curves, can be mastered therein.
