2022 Caverton Helicopters DHC-6 crash
Caverton Helicopters, operated on beahlf of the Cameroon Oil Transportation Viking Air DHC-6 Twin Otter 400 · Crashed in a forest during cruise
From Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport (NSI) to Bélabo Airport, East Region, Cameroon
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 11 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 11
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Charter & commuter
Viking Air DHC-6 Twin Otter 400
- Aircraft type
- Viking AIR DHC-6 TWIN OTTER 400
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- TJ-TIM
- Onboard fatalities
- 11
- Route
- From Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport (NSI)To Bélabo Airport, East Region, Cameroon
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
On 11 May, 2022, a Caverton Helicopters Viking Air DHC-6 Twin Otter 400, operating a domestic charter flight in Cameroon from Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport, Centre Region, to Bélabo Airport, East Region, with a stopover in Dompta Airport, North Region, crashed near the town of Nanga Eboko. All 11 people on board were killed. The accident is the first major one in Cameroon since the 2007 crash of Kenya Airways Flight 507.
Accident
The aircraft initially took off from Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport, Centre Region, headed for Dompta Airport, North Region, but it was forced to turn back shortly after departure. After an hour and fifteen minutes the aircraft took off again and begun its flight. At around 2 pm local time, during cruise, contact with the aircraft was lost, and it was declared missing.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
After the crash cameroonian authorities launched an investigation. The two flight recorders were recovered, but the cockpit voice recorder was substantially damagend, so it was sent to Canada for further analysis. During an interview, released in August 2022, regarding the state of the investigation, the cameroonian transport minister, Jean Ernest Masséna Ngalle Bibehe, stated that a mechanical failure was excluded by the investigators, that were now focusing on weather conditions, which were adverse at the time, and human error. The state of the investigation as of 2026 in unknown.
Akin Olateru, the chief of the Nigerian AIB-N agency, that was taking part to the investigation due to the presence of nigerians on board the plane, decided to create an accident investigation unit, together with some nigerian airlines, after the crash. The unit's goal was to improve air safety from things that will be learned during the investigation of this accident. Also cameroonian authorities were said to be pondering the decision to whatever cede completely or not the investigation to nigerian authorities.
Text from the Wikipedia article “2022 Caverton Helicopters DHC-6 crash” (revision 1353283219, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 2022 Caverton Helicopters DHC-6 crash
- Revision
- 1353283219 · 2026-05-09 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q138658403
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "2022 Caverton Helicopters DHC-6 crash" (page 82509230, revision 1353283219)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- Reviewed correction (2026-09-26): A Twin Otter flying a domestic charter for an oil transportation company: a small charter operation. The article: "operating a domestic charter flight in Cameroon"
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.