{"id":2749,"date":"2025-08-20T14:57:35","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T14:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justiceghana.com\/blog\/?p=2749"},"modified":"2025-08-20T17:44:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T17:44:28","slug":"a-ghana-helicopter-crash-history-report-of-1972","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/justiceghana.com\/blog\/special-reports\/a-ghana-helicopter-crash-history-report-of-1972\/","title":{"rendered":"A Ghana Helicopter Crash History Report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were three (3) air force personnel- the pilot & 2 others and five government officials, attending a scheduled state function (tagged, briefly here as \u2018responsible mining\u2019) 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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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, \u201ctook off on Wednesday morning, the 6th<\/sup> August at 9:12 AM from Accra but not long after, got off aviation radar.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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 \u201ctimer watch\u201d, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201d, Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin (Ghana Navy), Acting Director General, Public Relations,<\/a> advised in the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, the identities and the professional backgrounds of the victims of the Z-9 crashed military helicopter, according to the recent government\u2019s 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<\/sup> August, 2025, solemnly took their respective turns and national mourning. Already and ahead of these, were 3 days, set for Ghana\u2019s Flag, to fly at half-mask, in their honour- observing, appreciating and cherishing their steadfast contributions to the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, and for the purposes of this research article, and before taking a brief look at our main topic, \u201cA Ghana Aviation and A Helicopter Crash History Report of 1972\u201d<\/em>, we single out the brief profile of the Z-9 military Helicopter pilot- Squadron leader Peter Bafemi Anala<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He is a commissioned officer with the Ghana Air Force (BBC report paraphrased).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Squadron leader Peter Bafemi Anala\u2019s 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\u2019t have been recorded in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. 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.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. 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 \u201cthat they recovered all four crew and four other military personnel for di aircraft within minutes without any fatalities and injuries.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. 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)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    These are what we have been informed about and educated on, of recent past, up until the 6th<\/sup> 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\u2019s our view that probably, some comparative learning-curves, can be mastered therein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    THE SUMMARY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cThe helicopter was returning from the Signal Oil rig off the coast of Saltpond to Kotoka International Airport when the pilot experienced excessive vibration which he took to be engine trouble. This made him decide to make a precautionary landing on the coast. Before the landing could be accomplished a technical failure of the transmission gearbox occurred resulting in complete loss of control of the helicopter with fatal results to the pilot and passengers. The helicopter was wrecked but there was no fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. INVESTIGATION<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    blank<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1.1 History of the flight<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    UNAVAILABLE IN DETAIL HERE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1.2 Injury to persons<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1 Crew (fatal)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3 passengers (fatal)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Non-fatal (None)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1.3 Damage to aircraft (Total destruction)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1.4 Other damage (No damage to other properties)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1.5 Crew information<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1.5.1 The Pilot, Captain Peter John Faid, a British national by birth was aged 36 years and held a valid United Kingdom Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence. (for more information and other relevant details as provided for in in the original accident report)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    RECOMMENDATIONS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. It is recommended that the main gearbox plug chip detector must be replaced by the improved magnetic chip detector P\/N B168 as mandatory modification (See Appendix C.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. It is recommended rather strongly that specific instructions be issued by the manufacturers giving guidance on interpretation of any mechanical failure as indicated by particles adhering to the main gearbox magnetic plug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Consideration should be given to the up-grading of the modification to the planetary pinion gear bearing P\/N 206-040-035-5.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The report ended.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    BRIEF CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    THE PROBLEM- 22 JULY1970<\/strong>– \u201cThe civil helicopter, with 1 crew and 3 passengers (unnamed), was returning from the Signal Oil rig off the coast of Saltpond to Kotoka International Airport when the pilot experienced excessive vibration which he took to be engine trouble. Per the report summary, \u201cprecautionary attempts were made to land on the coast without success- due to technical failure of the transmission gearbox which occurred, resulting in complete loss of control of the helicopter with fatal results to the pilot and passengers. The helicopter was wrecked but there was no fire.\u201d What could be of vital to our instant crash of 6th<\/sup> August 2025 (some 55 years apart), as told by Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin (Ghana Navy), the Acting Director General, Public Relations, GAF, of the Z-9 aircraft and the crew, are that they lost radar and communications contacts- not long after taking off?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Linking the above dilemmas from the other unestablished local sources at Obuase and\/or where the aircraft actually crashed, and burning all the 8 onboard, almost to ashes, are the suggestions that the pilot- Squadron Anala (GAF), like Captain Peter John Faid, referred to in this paper, attempted too, to have a landing space but what happened and why couldn\u2019t\u2019 he? Of course, these could be some of the preliminary compelling questions confronting our investigators apart from those information likely to offer leads from the found black box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With Caveats, The OmanbaPa picks on Captain Faid (unedited & unverified)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cHello,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Whilst trying to research the flying career of my late father, Peter Faid, I came across references to him in the PPRuNe RAF Sharjah forum. I made a post asking if anyone had more information on my father, and a forum member suggested I should make a post in the Rotorheads forum too.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I was only 5 years old when my father died in a helicopter crash in Ghana in 1970, and my mother Ann (who died a few years ago) told me very little about him. I hope you do not mind me posting to your forum – but I would be very grateful for any help or information about my father and his flying career, whether in the RAF or with Bristows.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many thanks<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Emma Faid<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (daughter of the late Peter John Faid)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    reponse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cHello Emma,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I can’t say I knew your father well, but I did work with him very briefly when he was with Bristow at Sunderland in 1966, yes, 1966. He was flying the Wessex on an offshore suport contract. Some of the other crew there at that time were Tony English, Larry Coram, John French, John Hooper, George Siddle (famous for cycling everywhere he needed to go) and a couple of Danish engineers who I can’t put names to at the moment.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The context in which I remember your father was a discussion regarding the early Decca Navigator equipment on the Wessex, if I remenber correctly it was one of theose silly ‘yes you can, no you can’t’ discussions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The crash in which he died become a turning point in the developement of the particular helicopter type and lead to a major redesign of the main transmission. I understand the legal ramnifcations went on for quite some time.\u201d https:\/\/www.pprune.org\/rotorheads\/416785-do-you-remember-peter-faid.html\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    NOTES- \u201cPeter John Fair was the pilot of a Bristow Helicopters Agusta-Bell 206A Jet Ranger with the registration G-AVSV. Tragically, he was fatally injured in a crash near Fetteh Gomoah, Ghana, on July 22, 1970\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    RECENT CRASH- MISSION & POLICY BACKGROUND\/GALAMSEY: STATE\/PARTISAN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    WHAT WAS NPP\u2019S ILLEGAL MINING POLICY?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) illegal mining (galamsey) policy was codenamed: \u201cOperation Vanguard,\u201d launched in 2017. It aimed at \u201ccurbing the activities of illegal miners in three of the most affected regions: Ashanti, Eastern, and Western. It involved deploying a joint military and police force to combat illegal mining and its associated environmental damage.\u201d Galamseyers arrested, excavators- seized, burnt, stole, flew etc. How is this differentiated from the Mahama-led NDC\u2019s initiative?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    NDC’s Promise- Promote Responsible Mining for Sustainable Development<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    thus- We will:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Place a ban on new mining activities in forest reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Amend the Mineral and Mining Law to impose stiffer punishment on mining in water bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Decentralise regulatory and licensing processes for artisanal miners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Implement a \u2018Tree for Life\u2019 reforestation policy and a Blue Water Initiative to heal and harness the environment by turning areas degraded by illegal mining into economic and ecological recovery hubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    5. Resource the geological survey department to prioritise geological investigation as part of a broader strategy to increase Ghana\u2019s stake in its extractive industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    6. Set up a novel Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) to regulate the small-scale mining sector. The board will restructure the small-scale mining sector by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Provide mining support services to the industry, including concession viability, health, safety and efficiency in mining operations, equipment financing, research and standardisation, gold recovery optimisation, and postmining and land reclamation services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Compel small-scale miners to undertake skills training in land reclamation techniques as a required component of their operations to minimise their adverse environmental impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Place restrictions on the export of unrefined gold produced by small-scale mining companies in the medium term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Ensure that the Bank of Ghana\u2019s gold purchasing programme will be backed by a metal leveraging programme with international bullion holders.(https:\/\/manifesto.johnmahama.org\/manifesto\/mining<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    From the information immediately above, it could be concluded that there are no standardised and\/or agreed state policy on the fight against illegal mining common to the main political parties. hence, the strong promise that “the next NDC government will wage a ruthless war against the illegal mining menace and roll out an aggressive programme to reclaim our polluted water bodies, degraded lands and devastated forest reserves.”<\/strong><\/em> It was yes, some of these reasons why the Obuase air travel and the crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    OUR ADVOCACY & REQUEST<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Help and Support JusticeGhana Group, with any further\/additional information you have with reference to the 22 July civil aircraft crash victims- especially those whose names are missing on our research tray. Not forgetting those who might have suffered in any shape or form as the result of the Gomoah Fetteh tragedy. (The OmanbaPa Research Group@JusticeGhana)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Reference<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nhttps:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/media\/5422f039ed915d13740002f3\/2-1972_G-AVSV.pdf\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    BBC, https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/pidgin\/articles\/cqle6xr4qzzo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    #JusticeGhana\/#The SAGROUP\/#KAASFORDS<\/strong> ACADEMY<\/strong>– like and follow us online<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[579,41,40],"tags":[609,610,608,613,606,614,611,612,617,618,615,616,607],"class_list":["post-2749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ghana-armed-forces","category-research-information-and-advisory-advocacy","category-special-reports","tag-8-helicopter-crash-victims-ghana","tag-adanse-obuase","tag-aircraft-crash-history","tag-alhaji-mohammed-muniru-limuna","tag-bristow-helicopter-augusta-bell-206a-jet-ranger-g-avsv-civil-helicopter","tag-dr-samuel-sarpong","tag-edward-kofi-omane-boamah","tag-ibrahim-murtala-mohammed","tag-malin-twum-ampadu","tag-peter-bafemi-anala","tag-samuel-aboagye","tag-sgt-ernest-addo-mensah","tag-z-9-helicopter","cat-579-id","cat-41-id","cat-40-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/justiceghana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/justiceghana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/justiceghana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/justiceghana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/justiceghana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2749"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/justiceghana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2770,"href":"http:\/\/justiceghana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2749\/revisions\/2770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/justiceghana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/justiceghana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/justiceghana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}