Bright Simons questions Ghana’s search and rescue preparedness after military helicopter crash

Policy analyst and Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, is raising serious concerns about Ghana’s search and rescue (SAR) preparedness and policy gaps in the wake of the fatal crash of a Ghana Air Force helicopter, GHF 631, which killed eight people, including two ministers of state and senior military officers.

In a detailed analysis posted on X (formerly Twitter), Simons points to a “complete breakdown” of Ghana’s SAR protocol following the Z-9EH helicopter’s crash. According to him, the elaborate framework outlined in Ghana’s own SAR manual, which should have triggered a coordinated multi-agency response, simply failed to function when it mattered most.

“A military aircraft carrying VVIPs would normally have an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) that sends an automatic distress signal to the global Cospas-Sarsat satellite network,” Simons noted.

He explained that this system, coordinated internationally by ICAO and IMO, is designed to instantly alert Ghana’s Rescue Coordination Centre in Accra, alongside agencies such as NADMO, the Ghana Maritime Authority, and emergency medical services.

However, he revealed that “this elaborate mechanism, so perfect on paper, simply failed to fully activate,” leaving much of the initial response in the hands of untrained locals and causing hours of delay before trained personnel could reach the crash site.

Simons also questioned why backup systems such as the Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) and the Ghana Air Force’s own “flight following and tracking” protocol were not activated promptly, despite the early loss of radar contact. He believes the failure of these redundancies underscores a deeper policy problem: Ghana’s lack of strategic distribution of military assets.

Currently, Ghana’s Air Force operates from bases in Takoradi, Accra, and Tamale, with no operational aircraft stationed in the middle belt, including the area where the crash occurred. “The area of responsibility covering the crash site belongs to the Air Force’s Bui Tactical Command, which has no functional aircraft,” Simons stated, adding that even internet access there is unreliable.

1. Because of the massive public interest in the fatal crash this week of GHF 631, a Ghanaian military helicopter, I decided to wear my public interest investigative hat and nose around.

2. First, I wanted to establish the terms of reference and scope of the investigative board… pic.twitter.com/AKUW5NY2kk

— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) August 11, 2025

He argued that Kumasi’s existing military infrastructure could easily host aircraft, paratroopers, and radar systems to ensure rapid response within the one-hour standard set in Ghana’s SAR manual. Instead, the military is building additional “mini-bases” that may lack adequate resources.

Simons also criticised the lack of public scrutiny of such policy decisions, saying Ghanaians focus heavily on political debates while “there is practically no audience for policy accountability.” He stressed that critical operational issues, such as military asset placement and readiness, remain ignored until a crisis exposes their consequences.

As the investigative board of inquiry begins its work, Simons says the public deserves answers not just about the crash itself, but about why the systems designed to respond in such emergencies failed entirely.

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