The first investigations into the accident of a Pegasus surveillance helicopter of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), which crashed on Sunday morning near the Madrid town of Robledo de Chavela, pointed to a human error. But the conclusions of the investigations carried out later by the Civil Guard offered another surprise.
The pilot tested positive for drugs and methamphetamines, according to sources from the Ministry of the Interior, for which he was arrested for a crime against air safety. The driver of the aircraft was unharmed from the accident while his partner, who operated the camera in search of vehicles that violate traffic regulations, was slightly injured.
The accident occurred around one in the afternoon on Sunday when the pilot, a DGT official, was trying to make an emergency landing for unknown reasons. After impacting the ground, the aircraft was capsized. Numerous fire and emergency units approached the scene.
However, after being treated by the doctors and verifying that he had no injuries, the pilot was visibly “nervous”. In fact, without anyone noticing at the time, he disappeared from the scene of the accident to avoid the mandatory drug and alcohol test that is carried out in any accident.
Escaped 30 kilometers
The agents of the Civil Traffic Guard later found the fugitive in Villanueva de la Cañada, a town located about thirty kilometers from the scene of the accident and where some relatives reside. There they carried out the tests that determined the positives in cocaine and methamphetamines. He was then transferred to the Puerta del Hierro hospital together with his partner, also an official, to carry out more medical tests.
In parallel to the judicial action, the Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC), under the Ministry of Transport, will be in charge of finding out for what reasons this Pegasus helicopter crashed last Sunday.
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