- Always stow your penguins away safely before takeoff.
Flying can get unstable, which can send luggage flying around the aircraft in turn. That’s why they always tell you to stow your carry-on under the seat or in the overhead compartment.
That should also include your penguins.
A recent investigation report published by South African aviation authorities describes an unusual flight accident. Then again, it was caused by a famously flightless bird, so it all kind of makes sense.
A party of researchers flew on a helicopter to Bird Island off the coast of South Africa. From there, they picked up a penguin for what we assume to be completely legitimate research purposes.
They loaded the penguin in a cardboard box and got back on the chopper. The pilot performed all the necessary safety checks — but forgot to account for the new passenger.
During takeoff, the penguin and its cardboard box slid off one of the passengers’ laps. The bird landed right on the pilot’s control, with predictable results.
Fortunately, nobody was injured in the accident, although the pilot and the passengers had to wait for a new ride to come pick them up. The report doesn’t tell whether they still took the penguin with them.
If they did, they must have secured the bird better this time.
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According to the investigation report, the helicopter took off on January 19 from the Chief Dawid Stuurman airport in Gqeberha, on South Africa’s southern coast. Its destination was Bird Island, some 40 miles east off the coast.
As you can probably guess, Bird Island is home to birds. The rugged hunk of rock with grass growing on it is home to various sea birds.
One of the most famous among them is the African penguin. Bird Island and its surrounding islands host roughly half of the world’s entire population of these small penguins.
Aboard the helicopter were the pilot and three passengers. One of them, according to the report, was a “specialist” on their way to conduct an aerial survey of the island.
That’s what they did. After the survey was complete, the pilot identified a suitable landing spot and brought the helicopter down safely.
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Once the specialist had completed whatever they were on the ground to do, they had a request for the pilot. They asked whether they could transport one of the penguins off the island in the helicopter.
The pilot didn’t see a reason to decline. So, the specialist caught one of the penguins and placed it in a cardboard box.
We can only assume nobody had planned to bring a penguin home. Otherwise, we’re sure they would’ve had a more appropriate container.
With the penguin in tow, everybody piled back onto the helicopter and prepared to get back home. According to the report, the person sitting next to the pilot took the penguin box and placed it on their lap.
With that, the pilot started the pre-liftoff safety check. He found “no abnormalities” and turned on the engine.
However, he’d forgotten to account for one thing — the party’s newly acquired penguin.
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The helicopter began to take off. At the height of about 50 feet, the pilot started to turn the aircraft.
As the chopper turned, the cardboard box and its penguin-y contents slipped off the passenger’s lap. The bird fell straight on the helicopter’s controls, specifically the cyclic pitch control lever.
This instrument controls which way the helicopter rolls. The falling penguin twisted the lever all the way to the right.
And that’s the way the chopper went. As it rolled to the right and began falling, one of its rotors hit the ground and broke off.
The helicopter crashed only about 20 yards from where it had taken off. Through some miracle, however, the pilot and each of the passengers escaped the accident without injuries.
“The penguin was also unharmed,” the report states. Good to know.
Of course, that left the crew unable to get off the island. Fortunately, they were able to signal for help and get home safe and sound.
We don’t know whether they took the penguin. That said, we want to believe they allowed the little guy to go on its merry way.
It had quite a day for a flightless bird, after all.