2018 Puebla helicopter crash

On December 24, 2018, a helicopter carrying Martha Érika Alonso Hidalgo, the newly elected Governor of the Mexican state of Puebla, and her husband, Senator and former Governor Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, crashed on a hill in Coronango near the city of Puebla.^[1][2]

2018 Puebla helicopter crash

An AgustaWestland AW109S Grand similar to the one involved in the accident
Accident
Date	24 December 2018
Summary	Under investigation [3]
Site	Coronango, Puebla, Mexico 19°6′48.456″N 98°18′12.442″W
Aircraft
Aircraft type	AgustaWestland AW109S Grand
Operator	Servicios Aéreos del Altiplano
Registration	XA-BON
Flight origin	Puebla
Destination	Mexico City
Passengers	3
Crew	2
Fatalities	5
Survivors	0

Five people on board the helicopter were killed in the crash: Alonso, Moreno, the two pilots, Captain Roberto Coppe Obregón and Captain Marco Antonio Pavera Romero, and Héctor Baltazar Mendoza, an assistant to the senator.^[1] Alonso was 10 days into her term as governor.^[1]

Its destination was the Helipuerto Radio Capital in Mexico City. It crashed on 24 December at 14:50 local time (20:50 GMT), just ten minutes after takeoff from a heliport in Puebla. The crash site is in the Santa María Coronango.^[4]

Mexico had sought the aid of the United States National Transportation Safety Board, but the NTSB could not support the investigation due to the government shutdown underway.^[5]

References

1. Mervosh, Sarah; Stevens, Matt (December 24, 2018). "Mexico Helicopter Crash Kills Governor and Her Husband, an Ex-Governor". The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
2. Fariza, Ignacio (December 24, 2018). "Mueren la gobernadora y el exgobernador de Puebla en un accidente de helicóptero" [Governor and ex-governor of Puebla die in helicopter accident]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved December 24, 2018.
3. Ranter, Harro. "Accident Agusta A109S Grand XA-BON, 24 Dec 2018". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
4. "Mexico's Puebla governor Martha Erika Alonso dies in helicopter crash". BBC News. 25 December 2018.
5. "Ante negativa de EU, México busca a Canadá y Europa para investigar accidente de Martha Erika" [After being turned down by the US, Mexico looks to Canada and Europe to investigate Martha Erika accident]. Animal Político. 25 December 2018. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2018.