Over 40-Year-Old Bell 206L Model Identified
Emergency for Safety of Lease Helicopters by Local Governments, A helicopter fighting a forest fire crashed in the wilderness area of Seobyeon-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu on the 6th. The fire broke out around 3:12 PM and was extinguished after about an hour. Five helicopters were deployed at the time, and the accident helicopter crashed about 100 meters away from the fire site. Newsis,
‘A helicopter crashed while extinguishing a forest fire in Daegu, resulting in the death of the 70-year-old pilot. With consecutive crashes of firefighting helicopters taking lives, there are calls for a thorough investigation into the safety of leased helicopters operated by local governments.’,
‘According to Daegu Fire Safety Headquarters and others, at around 3:41 PM, a leased helicopter from Dong-gu, Daegu, crashed at a forest fire site in Seobyeon-dong, Buk-gu, resulting in the death of pilot Jeong Mo (74).’,
‘The forest fire occurred around 3:12 PM and was extinguished after about an hour. Five helicopters were deployed at the time, and the accident helicopter crashed about 100 meters away from the fire site. According to Dong-gu, the crashed helicopter was the Bell 206L model, 44 years old. Witnesses stated, “The helicopter suddenly lost control and its tail hit a greenhouse before crashing.” The pilot’s body was recovered around 5:30 PM.’,
‘Previously, on the 26th of last month, a leased S-76 helicopter (with a water capacity of 1,200 liters), belonging to Inje-gun, Gangwon-do, crashed at a forest fire site in Uiseong, Gyeongbuk, and a 70-year-old veteran pilot was killed. This helicopter was also an aged model manufactured in July 1995 and had been in service for nearly 30 years.’,
‘With consecutive accidents involving aged helicopter models, it is expected that there will be increasing calls for local governments to improve their method of leasing helicopters for costs.’,
‘Local governments need to be the first to discover and extinguish forest fires. However, they are hampered by budget constraints, making it difficult to maintain an adequate fleet of helicopters. Leasing one helicopter annually costs billions of won, up to nearly 2 billion won, without national funding. These conditions inevitably result in accumulated fatigue and aging of the aircraft. Consequently, there are ongoing suggestions to consider forest fire management as a national responsibility and to support operating costs with national funds.’,
‘Daegu police and fire authorities plan to investigate the exact circumstances of the helicopter crash once the site is cleared.’,
‘Kim Myung-kyun, a professor in the Department of Fire Safety and Environment at Keimyung Culture University, stated, “Firefighting capabilities should be maintained at a level where over-response is possible, but local governments are insufficient due to their conditions.” He added, “It is time to discuss injecting government funds.”