Albanian Ministry of Defense cancels welcoming ceremony for helicopters after six French employees of Eurocopter die in a crash hours before the helicopters were scheduled for delivery.
TIRANA, July 26 – The Albanian Defense Ministry on Thursday cancelled a ceremony for the delivery of two military helicopters after following an incident with one of them in France.
Six employees of the aviation company Eurocopter died Wednesday when it crashed while carrying a test flight in southeastern France.
The helicopter, a Super Puma model, manufactured by Eurocopter, an EADS (the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) subsidiary, was making a flight test prior to delivery to the Albanian army, local broadcaster Europe1 said.
Though an investigation is still to decide the exact cause of the incident, witnesses in the area said the helicopter had likely got caught in an electrical cable.
The Cougar helicopter crashed in flames in an area often referred to as France’s answer to the Grand Canyon, officials say.
A defense official, said the helicopter crashed while carrying out a test flight in the Verdon Gorge in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in southeastern France.
All six were employees of aviation company Eurocopter. The EADS-owned firm issued a statement confirming the aircraft involved was manufactured by them, and was being delivered to a buyer.
They added that they were working on identifying the circumstances and exact cause of the accident.
Laurence Fortini, the owner of a hotel in the village of Aiguines, told The Associated Press by telephone that she rushed to the hotel’s terrace on hearing a “loud, abnormal sound,” and then saw the helicopter plunge into the river below.
“It crashed some hundred meters below on the river bank,” and firemen had told her it “got caught on an EDF (electricity) cable,” she said. Guests, who interrupted their dinner to watch the drama, initially thought they saw someone jump from the helicopter, she said, but it was part of the helicopter falling off.
“It touched the beach and exploded. It burned and burned. There was huge black smoke,” she said.
The rocky, limestone area _ seen as France’s answer to the Grand Canyon _ is one of Europe’s most beautiful river canyons and extremely popular with tourists and hikers. At 700 meters deep, it is also one of Europe’s biggest.
Upon becoming a NATO member in 2009 Albania signed a 78.6 million ($95 million) deal to buy five military helicopters from France-based Eurocopter, a branch of Airbus parent company EADS.
Two of the AS 532 AL Cougar transport helicopters would be delivered Thursday in Rinas, the military base at the Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa.
Former Communist Albania, which joined NATO in April, is engaged in a major military overhaul to come in line with alliance standards, replacing its antiquated Russian and Chinese-made tanks, aircraft and naval ships.
It has already converted its conscript army into a fully professional force.
