Gokwe, Zimbabwe – Thursday, April 17, 2025

By Farai D Hove | ZimEye | President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has arrived in Gokwe Nembudzia, Midlands Province, aboard a Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma — the same model of helicopter that crashed in Masvingo just seven months ago, raising new concerns over the safety of Zimbabwe’s presidential air transport.

Mnangagwa, accompanied by First Lady Dr. Auxillia Mnangagwa, touched down on Thursday morning to attend a Children’s Party celebration hosted at Nyamuroro High School. The event was described as a joyful occasion — but aviation watchers and political analysts were quick to note the chilling irony behind the mode of transport used to ferry the First Family.

In September 2024, a Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma helicopter catastrophically crashed moments after lifting off from Masvingo Airport. The aircraft was reportedly en route to pick up the President from Bikita. According to aviation insiders, mechanical failure was suspected, though no official report has been released.

A History Marked by Tragedy

The Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma, widely used across civilian and military sectors, is no stranger to controversy. Its checkered past includes several fatal accidents globally:

• CHC Scotia Flight 23R (2013): Four passengers died when a Super Puma crashed into the North Sea while flying from the Borgsten Dolphin drilling rig to the Shetland Islands. The crash, attributed to pilot error, ignited widespread scrutiny over the aircraft’s safety features and design vulnerabilities.
• Rotor Blade Defects: Incidents have been recorded involving rotor blade stiffness degradation, making the aircraft vulnerable to dangerous “blade sail” phenomena during shutdown.
• Gearbox Failure: A separate crash resulted from the catastrophic fatigue fracture of a second-stage planet gear in the main rotor gearbox — a known point of failure for the model.

Why This Aircraft?

Observers are questioning the wisdom behind deploying a helicopter with such a controversial history for transporting the highest office bearer in the country.

“This is a helicopter model with well-documented mechanical and design flaws,” said an aviation safety consultant based in Harare. “Using it again so soon after the September crash is not just questionable — it’s risky. The President’s life should not be entrusted to a platform that aviation authorities across the world have flagged for repeated safety failures,” said aviation commentator, Caster Mangwa.

Images from Gokwe show President Mnangagwa stepping out of the aircraft and being greeted by senior government officials, some visibly apprehensive. The very visible blue-and-white livery matches that of the Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma class used in last year’s crash.

Lack of Transparency

Despite the high-profile nature of the September 2024 incident, the Zimbabwean government has yet to publicly release a full incident report, leaving many to speculate whether adequate safety reviews were conducted before returning the model to active duty.

With tensions simmering over security protocol and asset procurement transparency, today’s flight into Gokwe has reignited the debate about risk management and executive transport standards in Zimbabwe.

This is a developing story.