South African helicopter crash blamed on penguin in a box

They’re flightless for good reason: A penguin in a cardboard box contributed to the crash of a helicopter in South Africa in January, a recently published government report says.

They’re flightless for good reason: A penguin in a cardboard box contributed to the crash of a helicopter in South Africa in January, a recently published government report says.

A passenger on the Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter was holding the box with the bird inside when the box shifted on Jan. 19, South Africa’s Civil Aviation Authority said.

As the helicopter was around 50 feet off the ground, “the cardboard box slid off to the right and on to the pilot’s cyclic pitch control lever,” the report says.

The penguin in a cardboard box. South African Civil Aviation AuthorityThe aircraft rolled, its rotor blades hit the ground, and the helicopter crashed on its right side, the report said.

“None of the occupants was injured; the penguin was also unharmed,” it said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/south-african-helicopter-crash-blamed-penguin-box-rcna200791

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