Underwater exploration of Sebastian Piñera's helicopter begins: four tactical divers take pictures

Expert reports to clarify the circumstances of the accident that killed the former president of Chile Sebastian Pinera They were in charge Chilean Investigative Police (PDI) That, in the coordination of troops from Firefightersof Navy And Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC), undertake related tasks.

On Wednesday morning, the District Attorney of Los Rios, Tatiana EsquivelThe former president's cause of death has been confirmed.Asphyxiation by drowning”.

“This forensic data allows us to develop a very plausible hypothesis of what the dynamics of this plane crash might have been,” he explained.

No further details will be provided at this time, so I don't know if details can be clarified. Two main hypotheses They are replaced by: A technical problem due to bad weather In the area or The former president had some physical ailmentsThis will cause him to lose control and be unable to unbuckle his seat belt.

However, Valdivia, the commissioner of the death squad, Fernando BustamanteBy providing more information, he said Tactical divers, the first works were completed. “This is being done in collaboration with PDI's underwater operations department. “They have all the technical elements to carry out a search in water,” he pointed out, according to a local newspaper. Third.

They are this Wednesday, according to people familiar with the work Four tactical divers from the Civil Police Those who fixed aircraft with special emphasis Control panel indicators At the time of the accident. At the same time, They evaluated the condition of belts, radios and other components inside and outside the device..

As far as he knows ThirdTasks are divided Two phases. First, PTI divers took up the task of taking it Photos and videos Helicopter control system. The technology they did made it possible for researchers Watch live What did the troops observe underwater?

Four tactical divers, state-of-the-art technology and the only individuals in Latin America with criminal certification on the subject to carry out underwater expert reportsThe aforementioned media reported that they did the first work on the damaged helicopter.

For its part, the second stage is similar Re-floating of aircraft and procedures carried out on the ground by experts from the Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics. The plane is still there 28 meters deep And it makes the job more difficult.

In this regard, lawyer Esquivel added: Special expert teams are working. In the first phase, they are working at the scene of the incident. Underwater way. They are checking the perimeter of the plane to see if there is any interest. When it's done, We are going to carry out re-floating maneuvers of the aircraft It can be dry expertized by DGAC.

A helicopter piloted by a former president of Chile Sebastian Pinera A few minutes after departure, Tuesday fell into the waters of Rango Lake, with four people on board The former president was the only one who lost his life.

Pinera, 74, attended the lunch at the businessman's home Joseph Cox He piloted the helicopter which took off around 3:30pm local time. His sister traveled with him. CupcakeHis friend Ignacio Guerrero And son of the latter.

General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics of Chile, “Later”A few minutes flight”, Helicopter —a Robinson R44, registration CC-PHP— collapsed. All three passengers got off the plane and reached the shore on their own.

The three survivors were taken to a medical center but Piñera's body sank near the helicopter. Firefighters rushed to rescue the body He was also transferred to the Valdivia Forensic Service for an autopsy.

The Chilean Navy indicated that the weather was not ideal as it was raining in the area, but did not conclude that the incident was caused by bad weather.

He Robinson R44 de Piñera, owned by the former president since 2006, has capacity Four people (pilot and three passengers), over one load 400 kilograms8.96 meters long and 10 meters main rotor diameter.

in height, Three meters passed; was Almost 658 kg empty weight And there was a 200 kmph speed. It has a range of 560 kilometers and a flight ceiling of 4,300 meters.

Sebastian Diazpilot and flight instructor, said Wednesday got it”Honored to advise you” to Pinera. “I was able to make several checks on the President. In fact, he constantly asked me to experiment, and if I sensed that an exercise was going wrong, the exercise was repeated, repeated, comments reviewed, topics discussed, and performed again. Remembered..

He then mentioned that the former president.Very obedient, very studious, very anxious and aware of weaknesses. “He kept asking me to accompany him and asked me for advice on his flight,” he added.

Finally, he said: “When he stopped flying because of a work issue, he was worried about talking to a pilot and I had several opportunities to fly with him so we could do a test. That way, he kept his license up to date and had what's called a standardization, a flight done every two years.