This Friday, the crash of a helicopter fighting forest fires on the Douro River in the municipality of Lamego, Viseu district, resulted in the death of four of the six passengers on board, making it one of the most serious operations of its type.
A fifth GNR soldier from the Unit of Emergency Protection and Assistance (UEPC), who was returning from putting out a fire in Baiao, remains missing, while the pilot survived with injuries and was hospitalized.
According to available data, this accident is the most serious and resulted in the largest number of deaths involving fire equipment.
Ten fire accidents registered in Portugal since 2009 have resulted in the death of four pilots. The accident with AS350 — Écureuil on Friday left four dead and one missing, with the search for a body continuing.
Chronology Of the major incidents and accidents involving firefighting aircraft since January 1, 2009:
2024:
30 August, Lamego, Viseu district: A helicopter that landed on the Douro River killed four GNR/UEPS soldiers returning from a fire in the municipality of Baião, and a fifth was missing.
2022:
July 7, Foz-Coa, Guarda district: the amphibious firefighting aircraft “Fire Boss” crashed in Castelo Melhor, Foz-Coa municipality. The pilot died in the crash.
2020:
08 August, Lindoso, Ponte da Barca, Viana do Castelo: A heavy amphibious aircraft (Canadair CL215), part of a rural firefighting unit, crashed in the area of Lindoso, Ponte da Barca, Viana do Castelo, while fighting a fire in Serra do Gerês, killing one person and seriously injuring another. On 21 September, the co-pilot of the aircraft involved in the accident died.
2019:
September 5, Sobrado, Valongo, Porto District: An AS350-B2 helicopter collided with power lines and crashed while fighting a fire in Sobrado, Valongo, Porto District, killing pilot Noel Ferreira, 36, also an Air Force pilot and commander of the Quete Volunteer Fire Department in Paredes, Porto District.
September 4, Pampilhosa da Serra, Coimbra district: A helicopter was partially destroyed after it crashed during takeoff in Pampilhosa da Serra to fight a fire in the Castelo Branco area. The accident was due to pilot error, as the pilot thought he was flying a different model than the one he was actually flying, the General Aviation and Rail Accidents Prevention and Investigation Authority (GPIAAF) concluded.
July 3, Castelo de Bode Dam: A light firefighting aircraft was destroyed while delivering water to the Castelo de Bode Dam. The accident occurred because the pilot failed to retract the landing gear, the GPIAAF concluded.
2017:
20 August, Cabril, Castro Daire: An Everjets helicopter crashed, killing the pilot, in Cabril, Castro Daire, Viseu district, while fighting a forest fire.
2015:
August 8, Arcos de Valdevez: A light firefighting helicopter crashed while returning from a fire in Miranda, Arcos de Valdevez, injuring two people.
June 29, Pacos de Ferreira: A Civil Defense light helicopter crashed in the town of Lamoso, municipality of Pacos de Ferreira, while it was adding water to a lagoon to extinguish a fire in that town, injuring the pilot.
2012:
September 3, Ourém. Two people were slightly injured when a firefighting helicopter crashed near the Espite picnic park in the municipality of Ourém.
19 July, Beja: the sinking of an amphibious aircraft involved in extinguishing the fire in Tavira, in the Roxo reservoir, was recorded due to a technical malfunction, without any casualties.
2009:
August 12, Fundão: A firefighting aircraft made an emergency landing in Ferreiras, municipality of Fundão. Two crew members were unharmed.
Sources: Agência Lusa and the General Administration for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft and Rail Accidents (GPIAAF).
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.