Release full report on August 6 helicopter crash – Col. Aboagye to gov’t

Security Analyst, Colonel Festus Aboagye (Rtd), has urged the John Mahama administration to release the full findings of the investigative report into the August 6 helicopter crash that claimed eight lives, including senior government officials.

His call follows a briefing by the committee tasked with probing the incident, which presented its final report to President John Dramani Mahama on Monday, November 10, during a National Security Council meeting at the Jubilee House.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View with Bernard Avle on Wednesday, November 12, Col. Aboagye said transparency was crucial, given the national importance of the tragedy and the public interest it has generated.

“I have seen snippets of it on social media. We deserve, as Ghanaians — as a country — to see the report beyond the presentation,” he said. “This is a public interest issue. The loss of lives has affected several people and institutions, and it raises fundamental concerns about our preparedness and ability to manage emergencies and reduce disasters.”

The report, chaired by Acting Minister for Defence Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, concluded that the Ghana Air Force helicopter suffered a sudden loss of altitude caused by a strong downdraft while flying through unstable weather conditions.

According to the report, both pilots were “highly qualified and fully competent” to operate the aircraft, ruling out human error as the primary cause.

The ill-fated helicopter had departed Accra at approximately 9:12 a.m. en route to Obuasi for an anti-illegal mining event before losing radar contact less than an hour later.

Col. Aboagye further called on the government to publish the report in full to ensure accountability, support institutional learning, and help prevent similar aviation tragedies in the future.