AFM helicopter damaged during take-off procedure

An AFM helicopter suffered damage to its control surfaces in an accident during take-off preparations on Sunday morning.

According to the armed forces, the accident happened at 9:00 am and involved an Alouette AS9211 helicopter.

No details were given, but the AFM reported that no one was injured.

An investigation has been launched.

It is the second accident involving an AFM Alouette helicopter this year.

In March, an Alouette made an emergency landing in a field in Qrendi when a routine emergency landing exercise went wrong.

Alouette single-engine helicopters have been flying over Malta since 1979. At that time, they were part of a Libyan military mission stationed here.

They were withdrawn from service in August 1980 following a political dispute with Libya. Three helicopters were stored in an AFM hangar for ten years before the issue was resolved and the helicopters were transferred to the Maltese government, overhauled in France and returned to service.

In 1996, the AFM took over two more Alouettes from the Royal Netherlands Air Force. A number of the older helicopters were scrapped and used as spare parts.

The AFM Air Wing has also recently purchased more modern Augusta Westland helicopters.