Bear helicopter death prompts new precautions

In February, an Asian black bear was dropped to its death during a helicopter ride that was supposed to save its life and return it safely to the wilderness. 
The ministry’s inspector-general, Adisorn Noochdumrong, who headed an investigation into the bear’s death, said yesterday that his fact-finding panel had not only looked into the causes of the tragedy but also how to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. 
“My panel has already made recommendations on the process of animal transportation,” he said.
The report along with the recommendation had already been forwarded to the ministry’s permanent secretary Wijarn Simachaya, who is expected to hold a press conference on the case today, Adisorn said.
He added that the investigation showed the pilot and officials in the helicopter were not experienced in arranging such transport. 
“They did not have any rehearsal before the incident,” he said. “The trip was just the second helicopter ride involving animal transport [in Thailand]. The first took place many years ago.”
The chief of the Khao Yai Aviation Centre approved the use of helicopter transport for the bear, the report found, which was within the official’s stipulated authority in case of an emergency. 
“But we wonder whether the bear transport was an emergency,” he said. 
Records showed that no one signed documentation on the day of the trip and the pilot did not even know that there was a reporter on board. 
There were five people aboard the six-seat helicopter with the anaesthetised black bear hanging in a net below. 
Adisorn said the load was not beyond the helicopter’s capacity but the hanging bear acted like a heavy pendulum buffeted by strong winds. 
The pilot told the panel that he detached the net carrying the bear, which weighed more than 80 kilograms, during the flight because he noticed that the helicopter had lost momentum. 
“The pilot felt that the helicopter might have crashed if the black bear was not dropped,” Adisorn said. 
The panel focused only on finding out what happened, he said, adding that Wijarn would decide whether anyone should be held responsible for the incident. 
Thanya Netithammakun, who heads the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said his agency had also set up a fact-finding panel to investigate the case.
“The pilot is directly under the supervision of the ministry. But several officials involved in the case such as veterinarians and the chief of the Khao Yai National Park work under my department. So we have launched a separate investigation,” he said. 
Thanya added that his department’s investigation was still ongoing. 
“We need to interrogate one or two more people,” he said.