A penguin in a cardboard box has been identified as the cause of a helicopter crash on Bird Island in South Africa.
The Jan 19 accident was caused when the box containing the penguin fell off a passenger’s lap and hit the controls, the South African Civil Aviation Authority said.
Unable to recover from the sudden movement, the Robinson R44 Raven II’s main rotor blades struck the ground and forced the helicopter to crash on its starboard side around 20 metres from the point of take-off.
Everyone on board escaped unharmed – including the penguin – despite the helicopter being badly damaged.
“The lack of secure containment for the penguin” was responsible for creating the “dangerous situation”, South African CAA said in a report.
The four-seat helicopter had been conducting an aerial survey of Bird Island when it stopped to pick up a specialist who wanted to transport the penguin back to Port Elizabeth.
The CAA’s report did not explain why the penguin was being transported.
It said that though the pilot had conducted a “risk assessment” before take-off, there was a failure to account for the transportation of the penguin.
“The passenger seated on the left front seat placed the cardboard box containing the penguin on his lap and secured it with his hands,” it said.
“The pilot reported that before lifting off, he conducted the inspection of the helicopter and no abnormalities were found.
“While transitioning and about 15 metres above ground level, the cardboard box slid off to the right and on to the pilot’s cyclic pitch control lever. As a result, the cyclic pitch control lever advanced to the far-right position.”
Crate ‘was not secured’
The report said all situations involving transportation should adhere to “established safety protocols” and comply with aviation safety procedures.
It added that a proper evaluation of potential dangers, such as carrying cargo, should have been conducted before the flight.
“The absence of a proper, secured crate meant that the penguin’s containment was not suitable for the flight conditions.”
Bird Island Nature Reserve, just off the Eastern Cape, is home to a massive breeding colony of Cape gannets.
It was once also home to a thriving African penguin colony, but egg collectors all but wiped them out by 1990.
Since then conservationists built shelters on the island to encourage the penguins to breed once again and today the colony numbers have increased substantially.
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