Draft:1999 Namibian Defense Forces Helicopter collision
| Submission declined on 21 April 2024 by ToadetteEdit (talk). This submission is not adequately supported by reliable sources. Reliable sources are required so that information can be verified. If you need help with referencing, please see Referencing for beginners and Citing sources.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
|  |
The 1999 Namibian Defense Forces Helicopter collision was a collision that occured anywhere between January 16th and January 17th of 1999 in the former Katanga Province of the DRC. The two helicopters that collided were a HAL Chetak and a HAL Cheetah registered H-708 and H-702[1][2] Which collided in heavy fog[3] over the War Torn DRC while enroute to provide humanitarian aid to the Central African Republic. The accident killed all 9 occupants on both helicopters, 5 of which were Namibian.[4] Two unidentified officials died in the crash. The other 4 were found to be Zimbabweans.[5] Information conflicts between local and national news on the total death count and nationalities of the victims in the crash, it is plausible there were over 11 deaths in the crash but it is unconfirmed. The crash directly affected president Sam Nujoma as his personal pilot died in the crash[6] Both aircraft were subsequently written off.
Background[edit]
H-702 and H-708 were part of a production line of army and presidential helicopters, with their fellow helicopter, H-704 being painted white and used for VIP Transport / Presidential Transport throughout Namibia.[7] After Namibian independence, the nation inherited many airports that were in incredibly good condition, This resulted in the development and advocation for an army Development program, with Nujoma purchasing nessecary steels for production. The army was gifted two MIG-23's from Angola in 1999.[8] In the previous year, Namibia had become involved in the DRC's armed conflict with rebels. along with Angola, Angola had gifted the MIG-23's to help with their war effort. The Namibian government announced they would send humanitarian aid to the DRC shortly after entering the war. The VIP Configuration is the only surving helicopter of this production line, with H-706, H-708, and H-702 being W/O
Crash[edit]
This vision of Humanitarian aid changed however when H-702 and H-708 a Chetak and Cheetah helicopter, collided mid air in mist and or fog. Approximately 9-11 people were killed in the crash, there is conflicting information on different reports. It is indicated that there was little to no eyewitnesses at the scene but it is known that the two aircraft were written off. An official report was never given on the crash by the government and or army officials.
References[edit]
- ^ "Accident HAL Chetak (SA 316B Alouette III) H-702". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
- ^ "Accident HAL Chetak (SA 316B Alouette III) H-708". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
- ^ Maletsky, Christof (19 January 1999). "allAafrica".
- ^ "Growing force hits new heights | Times Aerospace". www.timesaerospace.aero. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
- ^ "The New Humanitarian | Nine allied soldiers die in helicopter crashes". www.thenewhumanitarian.org. 1999-01-20. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
- ^ "See Bottom of Second Page" (PDF).
- ^ "See Third Page" (PDF).
- ^ "See Second page" (PDF).