Simon Hunter
THE PILOT of a DGT traffic helicopter who crashed earlier this month in Almeria was making an unscheduled stop for lunch in a restaurant when the accident occurred.
That’s according to a preliminary report into the incident by the Transport Ministry, according to news agency Europa Press.
The report states that the accident happened on August 11 when the aircraft attempted to land near the restaurant in question close to the municipality of La Mojonera in the southeastern province. The pilot had earlier made a call to the restaurant to book a table.
As the aircraft approached the ground, in an ‘unprepared area’ according to the report, the dust blown up by the rotors caused the pilot to lose his visual references.
“The movement of the main rotor caused a cloud of dust, […] leading to the tail rotor hitting a tree and the subsequent falling to the ground [of the helicopter],” the report reads.
Both of the occupants of the helicopter were unharmed in the accident.
Initially the theory was that the aircraft had crashed out of control due to a gust of wind.
The helicopter, a Eurocopter AS355, was completely destroyed in the crash and could no longer be used for its purpose of monitoring the country’s roads.
In March of this year, another DGT pilot was arrested after he was found to have crashed in the Madrid region while under the effects of cocaine and amphetamines.
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