2018 Puebla helicopter crash

On December 24, 2018, a helicopter carrying Martha Érika Alonso Hidalgo, the newly elected Governor of the Mexican state of Puebla, and her husband, Senator and former Governor Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, crashed on a hill in Coronango near the city of Puebla.[1][2]

2018 Puebla helicopter crash
Picture of the aircraft
An AgustaWestland AW109S Grand similar to the one involved in the accident
Accident summary
Date24 December 2018
SummaryUnder investigation [3]
PlaceCoronango, Puebla, Mexico
19°6′48.456″N 98°18′12.442″W / 19.11346000°N 98.30345611°W / 19.11346000; -98.30345611Coordinates: 19°6′48.456″N 98°18′12.442″W / 19.11346000°N 98.30345611°W / 19.11346000; -98.30345611
Passengers3
Crew2
Fatalities5
Survivors0
Aircraft typeAgustaWestland AW109S Grand
Airline/userServicios Aéreos del Altiplano
RegistrationXA-BON
Flew fromPuebla
Flying toMexico City

Five people on board the helicopter were killed in the crash: Alonso, Moreno, the two pilots, Captain Roberto Coppe Obregón and Captain Marco Antonio Pavera Romero, and Héctor Baltazar Mendoza, an assistant to the senator.[1] Alonso was 10 days into her term as governor.[1]

Its destination was the Helipuerto Radio Capital in Mexico City. It crashed on 24 December at 14:50 local time (20:50 GMT), just ten minutes after takeoff from a heliport in Puebla. The crash site is in the Santa María Coronango.[4]

Mexico had sought the aid of the United States National Transportation Safety Board, but the NTSB could not support the investigation due to the government shutdown underway.[5]

References