Two helicopters collided (April 20, 2010) in Chaparral (Tolima), Colombia after a military ceremony.
The accident, which happened at 1:45 PM local time, killed seven people and left four survivors in critical condition.
The aircraft involved were a Bell 222 UT (registration HK-3262) belonging to Vertical de Aviación and a MD Helicopters/Hughes 500 series helicopter operated by the Colombian Air Force.
The helicopters were departing a soccer field after a military ceremony honoring the formation of the South Tolima Joint Task Force (STJTF), tasked with tracking down the location of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia’s (FARC for its Spanish initials) leader Alfonso Cano.
The MD helicopter departed first.
The Bell departed a few seconds later but seemed to climb into the flight path of the MD Helicopter which appeared to be taking evasive actions or performing a sharp turn.
The rotors collided and both helicopters crashed. Some of the occupants died as a result of the impact, while at least three died on the way to the hospital or at the hospital.
The victims killed in the accident were the new General of the STJTF, General Fernando Joya Duarte, Colonel Carlos Arturo Herrera Castaño, Colonel Juan Gonzalo Lopera Echeverry, Victor Sorza Pulido, Capt. Rodolfo Garzón Venegas (pilot of Bell 222), Lt. Camilo Andres Cujar (co-pilot of Bell 222), and Technician Eider Vargas Avendaño. Critically injured in the crash was Capt. Alejandro Suescun, Jairo Suarez, Alcides Otálora Polo (pilot of the MD 500 series), and José Hefner Lerma Prieto.
The survivors were airlifted out on a Mil Mi-17 helicopter.
Rescue efforts were hampered due to inadequate firefighting equipment.
Soldiers were trying to extinguish the fires on the aircraft with small fire extinguishers and water from a local pool.
A video of the crash was recorded via cell phone, but is difficult to see due to the grainy quality of the footage.
In the full version of the video, the MD 500 series helicopter departs the soccer field and appears to head towards the left of the screen.
The Bell 222 then departs, but appears to fail to notice the other helicopter and heads straight into its flight path.
The MD 500 appears to attempt an evasive maneuver, but fails to get out of the way in time.
