A retired Ghana Air Force officer, Wing Commander Patrick Nelson Sogbodjor, has dismissed suggestions that a lack of experience on the part of the pilot contributed to the August 6, 2025, military helicopter crash that claimed eight lives.
Responding to concerns raised on social media, Rtd. Wing Commander Sogbodjor said Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, who captained the ill-fated flight, was likely one of the Air Force’s most skilled pilots.
“For him to be selected as the captain of VVIP flights, he might be one of the best,” he told TV3. “I assume whatever happened could have been a genuine accident, not the result of a lack of capacity.”
Drawing from his extensive military aviation background, the retired officer estimated that Squadron Leader Anala had between 10 to 12 years of helicopter flying experience, with his co-pilot also having several years of service. He further explained that pilots typically select altitudes that avoid treetop-level flying unless under specific operational instructions.
Meanwhile, President John Mahama, in his first public address since the tragedy, announced that the Ghana Armed Forces had launched a full-scale investigation into the crash. An Investigative Board of Inquiry has been established, and both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered.
“I want to assure the families and the nation that the Ghana Armed Forces has initiated a full and transparent investigation into the circumstances of this crash,” the President said.
Reflecting on the national loss, President Mahama added:
“It pains me to think of them reduced today merely to names. In this moment of national grief, let us remember that we are, above all, Ghanaians — united not just by nationality but by shared hope, shared humanity, and now, shared sorrow.”
The crash in the Adansi-Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region killed Defence Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, Environment Minister Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, former Central Regional Minister Samuel Sarpong, former MP Samuel Aboagye, and three Air Force crew members — Squadron Leader Anala, Flying Officer Malin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.
