THE STRANGEST ACCIDENT EVER JUST MIGHT BE A PENGUIN THAT CRASHED A HELICOPTER
There have been quite the number of helicopter and small plane crashes around the world this past week. But I think the more noteworthy one, aside from definitely not being the most tragic one, is how a penguin crashed a helicopter on Bird Island. For one, we’re talking about a flightless bird crashing a flying vehicle, which is pretty rich all in itself. And for another, it was a flightless bird that crashed a helicopter trying to leave Bird Island itself. It’s just totally and completely strange. It’s the kind of thing that just shouldn’t, couldn’t happen, but did happen on January 19th.
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PENGUIN IN A BOX ON A PASSENGER’S LAP WASN’T SECURE, AND LIFT-OFF WAS A SHORT TRIP
Except it did! Bird Island is a small nature reserve a little over 7 acres in size about 100 meters off the shore of Lambert’s Bay, on the Cape’s West Coast, South Africa. The penguin, which was literally a penguin and not the nefarious enemy of Batman, was in a cardboard box being held in the lap of a passenger sitting next to the pilot. But the box and penguin weren’t secure, and when the pilot lifted the helicopter off the ground, the box and penguin slid away from the passenger’s lap and into several random helicopter controls. And that there is how a penguin crashed a helicopter.
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FLIGHTLESS BIRD PENGUIN REMAINED FLIGHTLESS, DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE BIRD ISLAND
Pre-flight checks are a normal part of all flying routines. But the pilot somehow failed to include the penguin in a box as part of his risk assessment. The flight included 4 passengers, including the pilot with the penguin as a plus one, and was intended to conduct an aerial survey that afternoon. The penguin was a last-minute addition for a short leg back to Port Elizabeth. Fortunately, the helicopter was only about 45-50 feet high in the air when the penguin crashed the flight by hitting the cyclic pitch control lever.
Apparently, this flightless bird wanted to remain flightless, and safe at home on Bird Island.
