JDF Helicopter Crashes at Up Park Camp

The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), reported this evening that, at approximately 12.30 p.m. today, a helicopter (Bell 412EP military aircraft) carrying out a training mission crashed at Up Park Camp, Kingston, the JDF’s headquarters.

Onboard were the captain, his co-pilot and a crew member. There were no passengers or civilians on board at the time of the accident.

The aircraft crew was conducting training when it crashed. As a result of the immediate emergency response by the JDF Air Wing and the JDF Medical Unit, crew members were taken to the University Hospital of the West Indies where they have been admitted in stable condition.

The Chief of Defence Staff Major-General Stewart Saunders, has already ordered that a Board of Inquiry be convened to determine the cause of the accident. An independent Flight Safety Investigation will also be conducted.

A Technical Team from the aircraft manufacturers, Bell Helicopter of Texas (USA), is expected in the island on Friday (July 3), to assist with the investigations to determine the cause of the accident.
“The JDF has maintained an excellent aviation safety record over the years, and will continue to take the necessary steps to maintain this record,” a release from the JDF said.