19 years have passed since the tragic helicopter accident at the Chira dam

 

March 30, 2004 will always be remembered as a black day in San Bartolomé de Tirajana. 19 years have passed since one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the municipality, the accident of a SUC helicopter after takeoff while picking up two injured people after the bus in which they were traveling overturned.

 

It was Tuesday, a group of tourists (mostly Dutch) were going on an excursion to explore one of the most recognized tourist routes on the island and visit the Chira dam. The bus in which the passengers were traveling traveled along the GC-604, a road that connects San Bartolomé de Tirajana with the Chira dam until in the section between Cercado Araña and Cruz Grande, the vehicle falls off a cliff, overturning and falling on one of the its sides. According to the president of Las Palmas Bus, the bus company, the accident occurred after turning right, since due to the narrowness of the road the vehicle had to maneuver approaching the edge of the road and it ended up giving way.

 

 

The bus accident occurred early in the afternoon, at approximately 15:00 p.m., and left 17 people injured to varying degrees. The emergency services were immediately notified and put their troops in motion to transport the injured to the hospitals in the capital of Gran Canaria. 11 of the injured had less serious injuries, so they were transported by ambulance; However, the 6 most seriously injured were located on the road waiting to be evacuated by helicopter.

 

Four aircraft were mobilized to transport the injured, two from the Emergency Intervention Group, one operated by Civil Protection to support the rescue efforts and one from the Canary Islands Emergency Service. After two takeoffs without incident, the SUC aircraft, a Eurocopter SA-365-N1, was preparing to take flight to transport the Dutch women Wil Vol Bly and Alye Poepjes to the Doctor Negrín Hospital. Shortly after takeoff, the helicopter's propellers hit the power lines in the area and fell to the ground. The incident happened shortly before 17:00 p.m., about two hours after the bus accident.

 

 

When it fell to the ground, the aircraft caused a large explosion that led to a fire that made it impossible for emergency personnel to access the victims. The witnesses stated that they did not see anything unusual when the aircraft took off, but that once in the air, when the helicopter was ascending with a left turn, it collided with the power lines. As stated in the technical report of the accident carried out by the Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC), the aircraft did not fall immediately when it hit the cables, after the impact the aircraft lowered its nose and lost stability but the pilot managed to stabilize the flight. However, the impact with the power lines had broken the propeller, preventing the pilot from continuing the journey to the hospital. The report states that after stabilizing the flight, pieces of the damaged propeller could be seen falling to the ground while the device lost altitude and moved away from the main accident area, impacting the area of ​​Paso de la Herradura.

 

After the fall, the Civil Protection helicopter that had not yet taken flight was mobilized to help the injured and another rescue helicopter was notified that had already reached the hospital after leaving the area with the injured, but due to the difficulty of landing in the fall zone and the fire that arose after the fall, there was no way to help the five members and the death could only be certified after the fire was extinguished. On the crashed aircraft were Juan Ignacio Hernández León, a 48-year-old pilot; Orlando Rodríguez Brito, 42-year-old doctor; Carolina Pérez Medina, a 27-year-old nurse and the injuries from the bus incident, Wil Vol Bly and Alye Poepjes. 

 

The accident was a great shock nationally and especially on the islands. The event immediately dominated the main news programs and information about the event began to reach citizens. The then mayor of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Marco Aurelio Pérez, reported that the aircraft had fallen on its propellers. The plenary session of the State of Nationality was postponed by President Adán Martín until after Easter due to the event.

 

After multiple speculations about the incident, the CIAIAC technical report pointed to pilot fatigue as a key element of the accident. Despite this, they stated that after consulting his medical history in search of any specific data or history of short-term memory loss that the pilot may have suffered before or during takeoff, they did not identify any relevant data in this regard.

 

 

After the initial shock, the institutions paid tribute to the members of the crashed Eurocopter SA-365-N1. On the La Plata highway, near the site of the accident, you can see a plaque in memory of the deceased and in honor of the emergency teams who risk their lives in rescue work. For his part, the then mayor of Las Palmas, Juan José Cardona, inaugurated the Carolina Pérez Medina plaza in Siete Palmas, in honor of the 27-year-old nurse who lost her life in the accident. The Las Palmas Nursing College also paid tribute to her by naming one of the center's rooms after her.