On August 4, 2015, 16 policemen died in a helicopter accident in northwestern Colombia. The Colombian Defense Minister, Luis Carlos Villegas [es], stated that the crash was most likely caused by bad weather.[1][2]
The flight was part of an operation against Clan Úsuga, a criminal organization composed of former right-wing paramilitary group members. Two other helicopters flew on the same mission but did not encounter difficulties and did not hear any hostile fire.[1]
Aftermath
The helicopter crash happened 4 days after a Colombian Air ForceCASA/IPTN CN-235 transport airplane crashed in Cesar Department, killing all 11 service members aboard.[3] So far in 2015, 35 members of the military or police have been killed in 5 separate accidents involving aircraft. The spate of casualties have led to questions about the efficacy of the military's air operations procedures.[4] A debate was organized in the Congress of Colombia to discuss the accidents, and the Defense Minister and Air Force Commander were called upon to testify.[5] An investigation found that the helicopter may have been shot down.[6]
