Helicopter Crash
(Photo : reutersconnect)

Authorities believe that the copter crash that killed the former governors of the central Mexican state of Puebla was due to a malfunctioning system that was known by the company responsible for flying it. 

The Final Investigation Report

Secretary Javier Jimenez Espriu, Mexico Transportation Secretary, said the final investigation report indicates that the copter should have not flown at all. The official report found that the helicopter pieces were damaged and the blades were shifted and the helicopter remained steady.

Jiménez said that the investigations found no evidence of sabotage or other foul play, but the flight log recorded damage to a rotor part that helps control the aircraft's horizontal roll, though no maintenance was done on the part.

The 2018 helicopter crash that killed then-governor of Puebla Martha Erika Alonso was the result of mechanical failure and negligence, rather than a premeditated attack, according to the Communications and Transportation Ministry (SCT).

The president of Alonso's National Action Party, Marko Cortés, alleged in February 2019 that the federal government's "suspicious silence" about the crash led him to believe that there was foul play involved.

He said the fact that the helicopter fell upside-down was suspicious, but the SCT's investigation appears to account for the unusual fall without finding any sinister intentions.

The report states that the rotor's linear actuator had two loose screws, which caused it to roll to the left unexpectedly. The pilot probably had only about three seconds to correct the mistake.

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December 2018 Crash

Mexico was in shock when they heard the news about their Governor, Martha Erika Alonso, and her husband, Senator Rafael Moreno Valle, were in a helicopter crash in December 2018. The accident has no survivors. 

The privately-owned Agusta helicopter bound to Mexico City lost contact with air traffic control and crashed 10 minutes after take-off. The pilots were identified as Capt Roberto Cope and First Officer Marco Antonio Tavera. The accident happened on Monday at 14:50 local time (20:50 GMT) in the area of Santa María Coronango, near the state capital of Puebla, Mexico's second-largest city.

Photos from the crash site show that the aircraft was completely destroyed, and a small fire was burning at the scene. The number of individuals on board was not known immediately.

Erika Alonso had taken office less than 2 weeks before the crash, which made her the first female governor of Puebla. Her husband served as governor from 2011 until 2017, and took office as Senator in September 2018. Both are members of the opposition NAP party.

TV footage showed the remains of an aircraft in flames, a plume of smoke and people who showed up at what appeared to be the scene.

The Reforma newspaper reported that the helicopter took off from Puebla City and crashed in Huejotzingo, about 30km away.

A variety of Mexican officials, particularly federal interior ministers in 2008 and 2011, had all been dead in aviation accidents in recent years. The latter two were also the members of the PAN.