The Department of Defence confirms that on the afternoon of Wednesday, 15 December 2010, a South African Air Force (SAAF) helicopter, an Agusta A109 Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) was involved in an emergency landing incident during a joint operation between the SAAF and the South African Police Service (SAPS) near Durban.
There were two crew members and two passengers onboard the helicopter at the time of the emergency landing. The helicopter commander and a passenger suffered minor injuries and were, as a precautionary measure taken to a hospital in Durban for medical observations.
The cause of the emergency landing will be determined by a board of Inquiry that will also assess the extent of the damage to the helicopter.
The SAAF helicopter was operationally in support of the SAPS “operation duty calls” aimed at combating crime over the festive period. The operation was launched by the SAPS on Wednesday, 1 December 2010 and will be operational until the end of January 2011.
Enquiries:
Siphiwe Dlamini
Cell: 083 645 4294
