Posted on 04/12/2025 10:44:45 AM PDT by DallasBiff
April 11 (UPI) -- The South African Civil Aviation Authority said a low-altitude helicopter crash that didn't result in any injuries was caused by an unusual passenger famous for its lack of flight experience -- a penguin.
The SACAA's incident report said the pilot and three human passengers landed on Bird Island, off the Eastern Cape, on Jan. 19, and a passenger described as a "specialist" placed a penguin from the island in a cardboard box and brought it aboard the aircraft
"The pilot conducted a risk assessment of the flight; however, he omitted to include the carriage (transportation) of the penguin on-board," the report said.
The passenger riding in the front seat of the helicopter held the box containing the penguin on his lap, securing it with his hands, but he lost his grip just after take-off and the box slid into the pilot's cyclic pitch control lever.
The lever was pushed to the far-right position, causing the helicopter to roll to the right and strike the ground with its rotors.
The report said the helicopter, which landed on its side, "sustained serious damage, but no human or penguin passengers were harmed.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
Luckily no one was hurt, but why take a penguin? They can't be great pets, anyway the penguin probably said, you are not boxing me in.
Have fun it's saturday. .
My cat Toonces could do a better job of flying a helicopter.
How else do you expect a penguin to fly?
“Helicopter crash in South Africa blamed on ‘unsecured’ penguin”. Really? Who doesn’t secure a penguin before they’re airborne?
Based on the smell of the penguin enclosure at the zoo, no thanks!!
I figured they would have just got the one off the top of the Telly.
Oh intercourse the penguin!
Unsecured penguin? What part of a helicopter is that?
The penguin on the television set will now explode…
Which distro?
I thought this was a joke at first since I’ve never heard of a penguin being blamed for a helicopter crash. I guess he didn’t want to leave his homeland.
I hope the passenger who dropped the box has insurance for a helicopter replacement.
“Unsecured penguin? What part of a helicopter is that?”
Where did you get that idea?
The penguin didn’t want to go.
Was it freed?
Helicopter crash in South Africa blamed on 'unsecured' penguin
“From this?
Helicopter crash in South Africa blamed on ‘unsecured’ penguin”
Really?
Relax. It’s a joke.
Trump Penguin?
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