Three firefighting helicopters have crashed in Portugal recently, killing 2 pilots

In the last 16 days two pilots have been killed in three helicopter crashes in Portugal while fighting wildfires.

The most recent fatality occurred today, September 5, involving a helicopter owned by Afocelca, a private firefighting company working for various Portuguese pulp producers. There are media reports that the aircraft crashed after hitting power lines, but that can’t be confirmed. The helicopter went down near Valongo, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Porto.

Reuters reported that yesterday, September 4, another helicopter crashed in Portugal while assisting wildland firefighters. Thankfully the pilot only had minor injuries.

fires map Portugal
The red dots represent heat detected in Portugal by a NASA satellite September 5, 2019.

In a third incident in Portugal, a pilot died August 20 in a helicopter crash.

From Safe Communities Portugal:

A helicopter fighting a fire in Castro Daire, Viseu, fell shortly before 13:00 hrs today Sunday 20th August, killing the pilot, Américo Sousa, aged 51 years.

The helicopter crashed into high-voltage cables, crashed and burned, and the pilot was trapped in the helicopter, according to a source at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI).

The helicopter had just dropped off a GNR GIPS team at a fire at Cabril, Castro Daire.

Américo Sousa was an experienced pilot. For several years, he had been flying helicopters on several missions, but especially for rescue and firefighting
The helicopter was based at the Air Media Center in Armamar, Viseu. The Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil belonging to Everjets is a single-pilot single-pilot helicopter with a maximum capacity of 5 people.

Castro Daire’s mayor, Fernando Carneiro, and fire chief commander Paulo Almeida confirmed the helicopter’s fall.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Eric. Typos or errors, report them HERE.

Short documentary about the disastrous wildfires in Portugal

portugal wildfires

Above:  Screenshot from the documentary.

Euronews produced this 10-minute documentary about the deadly wildfires that occurred this year in Portugal. The 360 video is very interesting and worth seeing but I could not get it to work properly using the Chrome web browser, however it displayed fine in Firefox.

If the video does not work, you can view it on YouTube.

In 2017, wildfires in Portugal burned about 560,000 hectares (1.3 million acres) of forest, representing 60 percent of Europe’s wildfire total, for a country that makes up just 2 percent of the continent’s landmass.

The fires were the deadliest in the country’s history, claiming more than 100 lives.

Ladder fuels on a multi-story structure

lisbon portugal plants window
An apartment building in Lisbon, Portugal. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

I took this photo in August of 2012 in Lisbon, Portugal, and was looking at it again today and thought about ladder fuels. I’m not sure about the flammability of this ornamental vegetation, but wondered if a fire could spread up the exterior of this apartment building through the plants… and eventually into the interior of the structure. It might stay green year round since in January the average high temperature there is 55F and the average low at night is 45F.

Some high-rise fires have spread up the exteriors, feasting on synthetic material like laminated styrofoam.

Helicopter pilot killed while fighting wildfire in Portugal

The pilot of a Eurocopter AS 350B3 was killed August 20 while on a water dropping mission on a wildfire near Cabdril, Castro Daire, Portugal.

According to an unofficial report at Aviation Safety Net, the pilot had made two drops before hitting high voltage wires and crashed. The pilot, trapped inside the wreckage, died at the scene.

The helicopter belonged to Everjets, a private company in Portugal. The pilot had extensive flying experience and had been fighting fires from the air since 2013.

Our sincere condolences go out to the pilot’s friends, family, and co-workers.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Kevin.
Typos or errors, report them HERE.