Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - A helicopter operated by a private aviation company Friday morning crash- landed in Addis Ababa immediately after take-off, the operators announced here.
The helicopter, operated by Trans National Airways (TNA), a private aviation business owned by the Ethiopian-born Saudi national billionaire, was flying to Jimma, an agricultural heartland in western Ethiopia, with five passengers and two pilots on board.
TNA is a member of the MIDROC Technology-Group, a part of the global MIDROC conglomerate owned by Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi, the second African billionaire after Nigerian Aliko Dangote.
The helicopter crash-landed in Bole Bulbula area, a poor residential neighbourhood, near Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport destroying few houses. But there were no casualties from those on board or on ground, according to TNA.
The helicopter crash-landed after one engine failed, TNA said in a statement it issued immediately after the crash.
Director General of the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) Wosenyeleh Hunegnaw (Col.) told the government-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) that investigation into the cause of the crash was already initiated.
-0- PANA OR/RA 26Apr2019
