Ghana Army Helicopter Crash: Government Seeks International Assistance to Probe Tragic Incident

• The government is eying international assistance in investigating the army helicopter crash in the Ashanti Region.
• The Deputy Minister for Defence, Brogya Genfi, briefed the media on the intent of the government
• The army has already started a probe into the crash, which took place in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025

The government has sought international assistance in investigating the August 6 Ghana Air Force Z-9 helicopter crash in the Ashanti Region.

Deputy Minister for Defence Brogya Genfi confirmed this to a delegation from the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs on August 13.

The Ghana Armed Forces had already commenced investigations into the probe.

Genfi explained that the sought collaboration with foreign experts is to ensure a thorough and transparent probe.

“And so we want to assure you, our Chiefs, that nothing will be covered; it will be transparent, and the public will know exactly what happened in the course of this tragic accident."

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A lawyer and head of chamber of Clinton Associates, Amanda Clinton, stressed the need for a thorough probe into the incident given the figures involved.

In comments on the matter, she said there was a need to bolster the team investigating the crash forensically despite the presence of competent officers in Ghana.

"If I were leading, I would fly in crime scene investigators capable of salvaging a scene.”

What happened in Ghana army helicopter crash?

The August 6 helicopter crash killed eight people, including two ministers.

The helicopter the officials were travelling in crashed into a dense forest as it was flying from Accra to Obuasi for the launch of the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme.

Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed were killed when the helicopter they were travelling in went down in the Adansi Akrofuom district.

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The other civilians who died in the crash were former Obuasi East parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye, Deputy National Security Coordinator Limuna Muniru and National Democratic Congress (NDC) Vice Chairman Dr Samuel Sarpong, while the army personnel who died in the crash were Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah, Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala and Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu.

Inside the Chinese-made helicopter in the crash

The Z-9EH, Ghana's variant of the helicopter, is designed for transport, passenger use and emergency purposes, according to the Odin database on military equipment.

But the Z-9 line of helicopters has been involved in notable accidents across three continents, according to incidents compiled by the Aviation Safety Network.

Aside from Ghana, the Z-9 has been exported by China for use in Bolivia, Cambodia, Cameroon, Kenya, Laos, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Pakistan, and Zambia.

Multiple Z-9 crashes in Zambia

Per YEN.com.gh checks, in 2013, a Z-9 helicopter flying past in commemoration of the Zambia International Youth Day was involved in an accident while landing.

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The captain of the aircraft, Major Misapa Mukupa, sustained injuries and, eventually, died.

Also in 2013, a helicopter carrying journalists accompanying the Zambian Vice President at the time was forced into an emergency landing in Kabwe. No one was hurt.

In 2012, a Zambia Air Force Harbin Z-9 helicopter suffered a power failure. It failed to ascend before spiralling out of control towards a tree and then coming to rest near a tent erected to provide shelter. One person on the ground was hurt in the incident.

Source: YEN.com.gh