Unsecured Penguin Causes Helicopter Crash After Getting Its Lovely Widdle Feet All Over The Controls

I need to make this clear from the get-go: the penguin survived the helicopter crash. All the people within the helicopter crash survived as well, but I know you were apprehensive in regards to the penguin. But so many more questions remain in regards to the January 19 helicopter crash on Bird Island (after all) of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Like, why was a penguin there within the helicopter? Why was it so unsecured? Was it also insecure and, if that’s the case, can we reassure it of its cuteness despite the fact that it caused a significant aviation incident? 

The Independent has more:

The penguin created a “dangerous situation” when the box slid off a passenger’s lap upon takeoff and hit the pilot’s controls, an investigation by the South African Civil Aviation Authority found.

The pilot of the Robinson R44 Raven II was unable to get better control and got here down from a peak height of 15m. The predominant rotor blades struck the bottom, wrecking the four-seat helicopter. Nobody on board was harmed through the accident, including the penguin.

The South Africa CAA in its report blamed “the dearth of secure containment for the penguin” as being answerable for the crash.

I do not know, possibly penguins really weren’t meant to fly. 

In original images from the South African Civil Aviation Authority we are able to see the lil’ guy shouldn’t be firmly secured. He’s more of, just kinda hanging out in a cardboard box with holes in it, but hey, at the least there are holes in it. There’s not a complete lack of responsibility here, just an absence of the sort that stops flightless aquatic birds from crashing your chopper. So his widdle feet, which were in a box, hit the controls. Which is just nearly as good.

It feels like the three passengers on the helicopter were a gaggle of scientists going as much as survey the tiny island and the penguin was going back for science reasons and never illegal pet reasons. Bird Island is a nature preserve, in spite of everything, and provides vital breeding grounds for all varieties of roosting seabirds and fur seals. Scientists keep an in depth eye on populations of Cape gannets and cormorants. The chopper pilot apparently accomplished a “threat assessment” found the brand new passenger cute as a button, and commenced up the engine. It wasn’t the sweet little penguin’s fault ultimately, since the pilot didn’t consider the box in his risk assessment — an inexcusable oversight. Boxes kill people day-after-day. Apparently “It’s cool I’ll hold on to it,” is as reliable with bird-rescuing scientists because it is with a baby within the front seat of a AMC Gremlin and the box slid into the pitch control lever, sending the helicopter back all the way down to Earth. 

Everyone made it out okay, and next time, I’m guessing the penguin will likely be required to be in a correct crate before taking off. I do not understand how that might have helped things, but possibly you possibly can’t hold a crate in your lap prefer it’s a birthday cake. I understand the will to stick with it front, for it’s a cute little guy, and he must be held close and fed an in-flight mackerel (or beer and noodles).