Aircraft Investigations Expert Captain Paul Forjoe has disclosed that the investigative committee set up by the government to probe the fatal August 6, 2025, helicopter crash had to send copies of the flight data and voice recorders to China.

He explained that this was necessary because the Z-9 helicopter is a Chinese-made aircraft.

Helicopter crash emergency response timely despite challenges – Investigative team

Captain Forjoe stated that the flight data and voice recorder copies were specifically sent to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) from September 12 to 22, 2025, as they had the specialised equipment required to decode the information recorded during the flight.

“We also went through a process of reviewing all the maintenance records of the aircraft. We examined the flight logs of the aircraft and the crew, checked the crew's qualifications, and verified all documentation to ensure everything was in order.

“The flight data and voice recorder copies were then transported to the AVIC Flight Decoding Center in Xi'an, China, from September 12 to 22, 2025. AVIC is the Aviation Industry Corporation of China. Since the aircraft is Chinese-made, they had the necessary software and hardware to decode and provide us with the data from the flight data recorder. Therefore, it was essential for us to go through them,” he explained.

About the crash:

The tragic incident occurred on Wednesday, August 6, 2025 involving a Ghana Air Force Z-9 helicopter en route from Accra to Obuasi. The aircraft reportedly went down in the Dampa Range Forest Reserve, near Sikaman in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region.

Black Wednesday: How Z-9 helicopter crashed - Investigative team details

Onboard were five officials including two cabinet minister and three crew members attending the launch of the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP).





MAG/MA

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