Authorities say the penguins inside the cardboard box caused a helicopter crash in South Africa earlier this year.
On January 19, the pilot and three passengers transported penguins from Bird Island in South Africa's Eastern Cape.
Board experts “requested to return one of the penguins,” the report said, adding that “the pilot agreed to the request and the penguins were placed in a cardboard box.”
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The investigation said the penguins were not properly secured by helicopters. (Civil Aviation Authority of South Africa)
The pilot conducted a risk assessment of the flight, but “he omitted the onboarding of penguins' transport (transport).”
A passenger, sitting in the front left seat of the helicopter, said, “It held the penguin in his knees as the cardboard box slid down to the right and onto the pilot's cyclic pitch control lever.
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The report continued. “As a result, the cyclic pitch control lever went to the far right. The helicopter rolled to the right, and the pilot couldn't recover over time.”
The helicopter hit the ground and “maintained substantial damage.” (Civil Aviation Authority of South Africa)
The helicopter hit the ground and “maintained substantial damage.”
All this happened while flying about 50 feet away from the ground.
No one, including the Penguin, was hurt by the incident.
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The report states, “The lack of safe containment of penguins has created a dangerous situation. The lack of a suitable safe wooden frame means that penguins containment is not suitable for flight conditions. Proper cargo handling is important to ensure that passenger safety does not interfere with passenger safety or passenger safety.”
