Retired Ghana Air Force officer, Wing Commander Patrick Nelson Sogbodjor, has suggested that the victims of the recent helicopter crash likely died from the impact before the aircraft caught fire.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey on Monday, August 11, Wing Commander Sogbodjor explained that the force involved in an emergency helicopter landing is so severe it can cause passengers to lose consciousness or fall into a coma instantly.
While the helicopter’s black box is the only device that can reveal the exact cause of the crash, he emphasized that the victims were probably brain-dead before the explosion occurred.
He said, “From a Accra to Obuasi, I’m sure you all know that you fly over a heavy forested area. So if you had an emergency and it’s losing height, it’s losing height. There’s no way it has power to see. It’s bound to fall and the impact on the ground. If you take automobiles, cars and so forth. When they collide, sometimes initially you are in a comatose situation. A helicopter is coming with weight and speed. So the impact on the ground, what we saw, I don’t think anyone survived before the fire was even started.”
He added, “It think so. So, to me, if that was the situation, then our folks who died would even say that they are being burned. If it’s not so, some could have walked out from the aircraft. But the impact, I mean, look at a car doing less than about 200, 300 MPH and a helicopter flying much faster than that. “
“So, the impact from the air onto the ground is heavy. It’s a shock, which can send most of them in a comatose situation. And if you’re in a comatose situation and there’s fire around, you won’t even feel it. I bet you have your brain dead. This is the truth that I’m giving you. Not many people survive in an air crash, it’s all due to impact.”
His comments come following the tragic military helicopter crash on August 6, 2025, which claimed the lives of eight notable government officials and military personnel, including Defence Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
